Torn Between Girls
by citysinger13
Summary: Freddie has always admired Carly; he's never even been interested in Sam. However, both girls end up with some unexplainable jealous feelings when a new girl comes to their school and wins Freddie's attention. Rated T for possible language later.
1. An Ordinary Day?

**Alright, so I started writing this story without any intention of sharing it and finally just decided what the heck? It's just for fun, but this is going to be a story with a bit of a twist…but we'll get to that in later chapters ****. I have to put this out there—if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. I would like comments if you like the story, and if you don't like it, don't read it! Thanks!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or its characters. I DO, however, own Elizabeth Davidson…and a few other random characters I throw in for effect.**

It was a dreary, rainy Monday morning in Seattle. A yellow school bus trundled along the damp streets heading for Ridgeway High School. Carly Shay sat cross-legged on the torn seat, locked in a fierce thumb war with her friend, Freddie Benson, next to her. Freddie definitely had the upper hand in strength, but he wasn't trying to beat her—mainly because he liked her.

Carly finally maneuvered her thumb on top of his and pinned it down for five seconds. Freddie pretended to struggle but really could have easily beaten her in about half the time. "You let me win!" Carly scoffed, crossing her arms at him.

"I did not!" Freddie exclaimed, trying to act shocked. It didn't work very well and Carly just raised her eyebrows at him. "Okay, just a little bit," he confessed.

"Stop it! I hate when you let me win!" Carly complained. She held out her hand. "Rematch!" Freddie reached out compliantly, but at that moment, the bus screeched to a stop, making Carly topple forwards off of the seat. Freddie snickered as he held a hand out to help her up and they fought their way off the bus.

They ran inside quickly, huddled inside their rain jackets. Once in the hallway, Freddie followed Carly over to her locker where she took off her jacket and shoved it in her locker. "_All_ of your stuff is going to get wet now," he commented.

"True, but I can't exactly carry it around all day," Carly countered. "I'd spend the whole day dripping wet. Who wants to do that?" Carly closed her locker just as her best friend, Sam Puckett walked in the front door, no rain jacket on and dripping wet. She walked over and Carly's face became shocked. "Sam!"

"What?" Sam asked, walking to her own locker, one over from Carly.

"Why aren't you wearing a rain jacket?" Carly questioned, eyeing Sam's soaked curls and the droplets on her black t-shirt. She'd obviously stood at the bus stop in the rain for awhile too.

"I lost it," Sam dismissed. "I think it's either at your apartment or I left it at juvie last time I was there."

"You're going to catch pneumonia," Freddie told her, removing his rain jacket and walking over to his locker to put it up. Sam closed her locker and followed him.

"Nooo," she disagreed. "You are!"

"Why would I-." He started to ask, but then Sam started to shake her long, wet hair, splattering him with a thousand water droplets. "Sam! Stop!" Sam stopped, laughing at him. "You're the worst, Sam."

"Aren't I though, Fredweird?" she snickered. Carly watched the two with a disappointed expression.

"Can't you guys make nice for once?" she asked, knowing it was hopeless. They probably wouldn't even be able to live without being able to tease each other. Carly actually thought that they enjoyed it by now.

Sam opened her mouth to answer, but just then the first bell rang. "Oh, let's get to class," Carly said, grabbing Sam's wrist.

"I don't want to get to class on time! Who does that?" Sam objected as Carly dragged her down the hall.

Freddie smiled as he heard them snipe at each other all the way down the hall. He turned and walked to his own homeroom, sighing as he got ready to face an ordinary, boring day of school. He slipped in the door just as the second bell rang and went to his seat in the back of the room.

Mrs. Pyperman, his homeroom teacher, stood at the front of the room trying to take attendance. "Everyone, sit down, please!" she exclaimed over the chatter of students. Kids sullenly went to their desks.

Suddenly the door opened and a girl Freddie had never seen before in his life walked in. Her brown hair was wet, not as much as Sam's had been, but it was obvious she hadn't been wearing a rain jacket. She walked up to the front of the room, handing a slip to Mrs. Pyperman.

Mrs. Pyperman read the slip quickly and then turned to talk to the class. "Class, this is Elizabeth Davidson. She's a new student here. I hope you'll make her feel welcome." Mrs. Pyperman looked around the room and said to Elizabeth, "There's an empty desk next to Freddie Benson. Freddie, wave to Elizabeth."

Freddie raised a hand and pointed to the seat next to him, which was in fact the only empty desk in the room. Elizabeth smiled and walked over, tripping over her own feet as she neared him. She grabbed the edge of his desk to catch herself. Freddie caught her arm at the same moment, totally by reflex.

Their faces were so close. He was staring right into her sparkly hazel eyes, framed with soft, smoky lashes…

She pulled away, straightening up. "Oh, geez, I'm sorry," she said, embarrassment showing on her face. "I'm such a klutz." She walked to her desk and sat, smiling at Freddie. He blinked, wondering what had happened. For a moment he had sort of…lost himself…in her eyes? No, that sounded corny. But what was up with that? He shook off the feeling.

"You're, um…" Freddie murmured. "You're Elizabeth?"

She nodded and then shrugged. "Elizabeth, Liz, Lizzie, Beth…I have a lot of nicknames." She looked thoughtful. "Or…you know, I did at my old school."

"Well…cool." Freddie smiled. "I'm Freddie…as you heard Mrs. Pyperman say."

"Yeah…" Liz flipped her hair over one shoulder and bit her lip apprehensively. "This is going to sound so weird but…are you Freddie Benson from iCarly? The web show?"

"Uh, yeah, I am," Freddie replied. "Why, have you seen it before?"

"Seen it? I love iCarly. My favorite web show out there. Actually," she admitted, leaning closer with a dramatic whisper. "It's the only web show I've ever seen."

That got a chuckle from Freddie. "Well that's great. I'm glad you like it."

"I kind of wanted to start my own web show once," Liz continued. "With my friends, Maddie and Christy. We even wrote out a script and named it and everything…but we never actually got the chance to film it." She shrugged. "We were just too busy, I guess."

"That's too bad," Freddie said, and he meant it. "You should sit with Carly, Sam, and me at lunch. I'm sure they'd love to meet you." Freddie looked thoughtful for a moment. "Um…well Carly might. I'm not entirely sure how Sam will act. She's…" How to put this nicely? "A bit unpredictable."

"Wow, that's…" Liz smiled and nodded. "That's really nice. Thank you!" She bit her lip and chuckled slightly. "I'm just not entirely sure when lunch is."

"Oh," Freddie laughed. "Here, get your schedule out and I'll show you."

As Liz reached into her bag to grab her schedule, Freddie found himself admiring the way her chestnut colored hair fell over her shoulders. He stopped himself abruptly.

_What's going on? _He asked himself. _I like Carly…don't I?_ And yet…he found himself entranced by the smoky eyes and dazzling smile of the new girl. _Could I have a crush…on someone other than Carly? But…I just met Liz—how could I have any feelings for her? _

This was clearly _not _the ordinary day he had expected.


	2. Lunchtime

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for your sweet comments. Things are really busy this week, since the school musical that I'm in opens next week, so I may not have a chance to update for awhile. However, right now, here is chapter two!**

**Disclaimer: iCarly and its characters do not belong to me. Elizabeth Davidson does. Ta daa!**

Freddie and Liz soon realized that they also had fourth period English class together as well, right before lunch. So, after suffering through fifty-five minutes of listening to their monotonous teacher recite every single preposition in the English language, they joined the crowd of hungry teenagers and headed for the cafeteria.

"Carly and Sam usually beat me here," Freddie commented, pulling off his trademark blue backpack and setting it on the table. "They must be stuck in the lunch line."

Liz smiled, setting down her neon green tote back as well. "I hope you don't think it's dorky that I bring my lunch to school," she told him, pulling out a brown paper lunch sack from her bag. It had her name written on it in script, with swirly letters and a smiley face drawn up in the corner.

"Hey, only if I think of myself as dorky," Freddie laughed, showing her his own lunch sack. She smiled and they both sat down to eat.

Meanwhile, across the cafeteria, Carly was finishing paying for her lunch. "C'mon Carls," Sam urged, already downing one of three French fry baskets on her tray.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," Carly replied, haphazardly shoving her wallet back into her bag and picking up her tray. She joined Sam and they started across the cafeteria.

Halfway to the table, Carly caught sight of Freddie with some girl Carly had never seen before. Sam noticed to.

"Who's the chick with Frednub?" Sam asked, popping another fry into her mouth.

"I don't know," Carly told her, flipping her brown hair out of her eyes. "She must be new here. You know Freddie—he can't help but offer to show a new kid around."

"He thinks she's hot."

Carly stopped short and whirled around to look at her best friend. "Sam!"

"What?" Sam asked, taking a bite of her large ham sandwich. "Look at him! It's so obvious. He digs her."

"That's not true," Carly denied.

"Why?"

"Because…" Carly struggled to find a reason. "Well…because Freddie likes _me, _doesn't he?"

Sam raised her eyebrows. "What does it matter, kid?" she asked. "Do you like _him_?"

"No," Carly admitted. "But still-."

"Then no big deal! Now come on, let's go and sit down before Freddork starts to think we're ignoring him."

Freddie looked up and saw Carly and Sam, about halfway between the lunch line and the table, standing and talking. "Hey!" he called, and half-stood to wave at them. Carly gave him a strange smile and they both started to walk over. "Guys, this is Liz Davidson," Freddie said as his friends sat down at the lunch table.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Carly said sweetly. "I'm Carly and this is-."

"Sam, I know," Liz finished with a grin. "Freddie's told me about you. Plus, I'm a big fan of iCarly, so…yeah." Liz gave a nervous giggle.

"Ooooh," Sam drawled, like everything suddenly made sense. "So you're a _fan_."

"I guess," Liz replied nervously, glancing at Freddie. He shrugged, not knowing what was up with Sam (as usual).

"So I guess that means you're here because you think that Freddie is your soulmate and you want him to ask you out?" Sam asked with a snicker. Liz's mouth dropped open slightly. "Or is it because you want to be Carly's or my best friend? "

"Sam!" Carly scolded.

"What's the matter with you?" Freddie added.

"Oh come on, guys!" Sam objected. "You know what iCarly fans are like? Hello, were you even _at_ Webicon?" Sam set down her ham sandwich and folded her hands on the table. "Tell me, Liz," she said in a mock interested voice. "Are you a Creddie shipper or a Seddie shipper?"

"I don't really pay attention to any of that stuff," Liz hesitantly answered. "If you don't want me to be here, then I can find somewhere else to eat, Sam…"

"Oh really? Why are you still here then?"

"Sam!" Freddie exclaimed loudly. Liz looked taken aback and hurt. Carly immediately grabbed Sam's wrist and yanked her away from the table. She pulled her over to a corner where they began a hushed conversation.

"Um…" Liz stuttered. "I should go. I mean…clearly your friends don't like me so…"

"No!" Freddie objected, shaking his head. "Sam is just being a complete jerk right now, and I have no idea why. She normally isn't this vicious to people that she just met…"

"Are you sure?"

Freddie smiled and nodded. "Of course. I don't care if Sam's going to act like…that. I think you're cool."

Liz smiled slightly. "Really?"

Her white, sparkly smile made Freddie nervous. He swallowed. "And I'm sure Carly does too. And once Sam warms up to you it'll be okay. I want to be friends."

"That's so nice," Liz responded, and it looked like she was going to say something else, but Gibby walked up at that exact moment.

"Hey Freddie," Gibby greeted, setting down his lunch tray. "How goes things?"

"Pretty good, Gib," Freddie answered. "This is Liz, she's new here…"

"Hey! Carly! Let go!" Sam wrenched her wrist out of Carly's grip. "I was eating my sandwich!"

"No, you weren't!" Carly whispered, agitated. "You were ripping that poor new girl to shreds! Why?"

Sam laughed a little bit. "Oh come on, I was just having a little fun. Can't I do anything? You never care when I rip into Freddie like that!"

Carly blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Because Freddie is your _friend_, Sam. He knows how to deal with your insults, but you were just completely _horrible _to a girl you've never even _met_ before!" Carly put her hands on her hips and made her best intimidation pose.

Sam raised her eyebrows, but then sighed. "Fine, I'll be nicer. You know I hate being nice."

Carly finally smiled. "But I know you're capable of being nice, Sam. And so do most of your friends. So let's let Liz know that before you start with your evil behavior."

"Whatever," Sam muttered. However, as she and Carly started walking back to the table, Sam still felt a knot in her stomach, and not the kind from eating too much like she usually had. This knot was different.

Jealousy?

Nah. The nub wasn't worth jealousy.


	3. Bushwell Plaza

**Alright! I didn't expect to get a chapter out this week, but we had a snow day at school (YAY!) so I spent awhile writing! Again, thanks for your comments. They brighten my life :) **

**Also, I haven't really mentioned this, so I thought I should let everyone make note that the iCarly gang and their friends are juniors in high school in this story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own iCarly or its characters, because if I did, this would be an episode. I do own Elizabeth Davidson.**

Freddie pulled his Advanced US History binder out of his locker and shoved it in his bag hurriedly. He quickly slammed his locker shut and raced off to the bus stop. He had spent ten minutes waiting for Carly by her locker before she texted him, saying she was catching a ride with Sam to the Groovy Smoothie, and that she'd see him at five for iCarly rehearsal.

Racing out the front door of the school, Freddie saw his bus idling by the curb, the driver glancing to see if anyone was still coming. Almost tripping over his own feet, Freddie booked it to the bus and sighed with relief as he made it just before the driver closed the door. The bus was crowded with other high school students and Freddie glanced around for a seat, finally seeing one in the middle of the bus next to…

With a smile, Freddie made his way to the empty seat. "Mind if I sit here?" he asked, flipping his hair out of his eyes. Liz looked up from her book and smiled when she recognized Freddie.

"Freddie!" she exclaimed enthusiastically. "Sure, sit." Freddie complied and sat, pulling off his backpack and setting it at his feet.

"So you ride this bus too?" he commented, lurching forward with the bus as it rolled into motion.

"Yeah," Liz nodded. "I've never ridden the bus before, but I guess there's a first for everything."

"You've never ridden the bus before?" Freddie asked, slightly amused.

"Nope. At my old school, there were only seventy-three people in my junior class. I'm not sure that we even _had_ a bus system." Liz smiled and bit her lip as she dog-eared a page in her book.

"Where are you from?" Freddie asked, astonished. He'd lived in Seattle for so long, he couldn't even imagine any place that small.

"Arbordale, Texas," Liz replied. "Or as I like to call it, Middle-of-Nowhere-ville."

"Sounds like it," Freddie responded automatically. "I mean…not that it's a bad thing! I'm sure small towns are really…great."

Liz laughed. It sounded like wind chimes. "You've never been to a small town in your life, have you?"

"I've _been _to small towns," Freddie corrected. "I've never _lived _in one."

"Yeah, well, don't. It's horrible."

"How so?"

Liz considered for a minute. "Well…since there weren't that many students at my school, everyone knew each other. That _could _be a good thing, but…it can also be a bad thing. If a secret gets out, it's only a matter of hours before the entire student body knows about it."

Freddie nodded thoughtfully. "I guess that would kind of suck."

"Kind of."

The bus made a stop and let off some students. Liz looked out the window at the rain that was still drizzling down. "So where's your stop?" Freddie asked her.

"Bushwell Plaza, you?"

"Same!" Freddie was amazed. "That's crazy. Carly lives there with her big brother, too. It's where we do iCarly."

"Really?" Liz commented. "Oh yeah…in Carly's attic or something right? Your studio is _so_ cool."

"You should come check it out sometime," Freddie suggested. "We have iCarly rehearsal today, why don't you come and hang out with us?"

Liz looked apprehensive. "Something tells me that Sam wouldn't be a big fan of that."

Freddie winced as he remembered Sam's cruel remarks at lunch. After Carly had given her a talking to, Sam had come back to the table and finished her lunch in silence, leaving as soon as she finished. Liz was right—Sam wouldn't like it. But hey, it wasn't _Sam's_ rehearsal, and if she could get away with bringing her boyfriend to rehearsal before (the icky Jonah), then Freddie could bring Liz right?

Wait. That wasn't _exactly _the same thing, since Liz was just Freddie's friend. But…Freddie shook off the feeling again.

"It doesn't matter," he reassured Liz. "Sam can deal with it. We've all had guests at rehearsals, and you're a friend."

"Really?" Liz asked, sounding interested. "We're friends?"

Freddie shrugged. "I figured that we were kind of friends, but if you don't want to be…"

Liz rolled her eyes and pushed Freddie's shoulder slightly as he laughed. "Of course I want to be friends. Okay, I'll come to rehearsal."

"Awesome!" Freddie grinned. At that moment, the bus jerked to a halt in front of Bushwell Plaza. Freddie and Liz both got up, and made their way off of the bus, hurrying into the cover of the lobby from the rain.

"Good afternoon," Liz called cheerfully to Lewbert, who was sitting at his desk, watching a small portable television.

"What's good about it?" Lewbert screeched at her. Liz's eyes widened and she glanced at Freddie, alarmed.

"Come on, Lewbert, be nice for once," Freddie complained. "She's new here."

"I don't care if she's the princess of Alaska!" Lewbert screamed. "Now shut up! I'm watching infomercials!"

Freddie rolled his eyes and he and Liz walked quietly to the elevators. Freddie pressed the "up" button and while they were waiting, tried to explain what was wrong with Lewbert. He found it difficult.

"So, basically, he's a jerk with a wart?" Liz finally clarified as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. They both stepped in.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good way of putting it," Freddie agreed. He gestured to the buttons. "What floor?"

"Seven," Liz answered, and Freddie pressed the seven and the eight. The elevator hummed to life and started moving up.

"Rehearsal starts at five," Freddie told Liz. "Just come to my apartment, 8D. Carly lives across the hall from me."

"Cool," Liz responded as the elevator halted on the seventh floor. The doors opened and Liz walked out, waving and smiling at Freddie as the doors closed again.

_Carly and Sam_

"So what are you writing your English essay over?" asked Carly, sipping her smoothie as she walked in the front door of Bushwell Plaza with Sam.

"Essay?" Sam asked, sounding confused and uninterested.

"Yeah," Carly said slowly. "The essay that Mr. Blankenhooper assigned yesterday. It's due in a week."

"And…what made you think I was planning on doing it?" Sam laughed sarcastically. She tossed her empty smoothie cup in the trashcan in the lobby.

"I don't know," Carly replied hopelessly. "You're going to _fail_ that class you know, and then you'll have to go to summer school. _Again_."

Sam shrugged as they headed up the elevator. Carly glanced at her watch and her eyes widened. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "We're five minutes late for iCarly rehearsal!"

"So?" Sam murmured. Carly grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the elevator as it arrived in the Shay's living room. There was Spencer, working on his latest sculpture. Currently, it resembled a big pile of mud, twigs, and leaves.

"Hey kiddo," Spencer called as he noticed Carly and Sam. "You guys are a little late, aren't you?"

"Don't mention it!" Carly replied. "I'm _never _late!" Carly continued to pull Sam along behind her, up the stairs and to the studio.

"Freddie's upstairs waiting for you guys with-." Spencer stopped when he realized that Carly and Sam were gone. He shrugged and consulted his sculpture for a minute. "I need more leaves."

_In the studio_

Carly and Sam burst into the studio. "Sorry we're late, Freddie, we lost track of time," Carly exclaimed breathlessly. She suddenly noticed that Freddie wasn't the only one in the room. Next to him at his tech cart was the new girl, Liz, who smiled hesitantly and gave a little wave. Carly didn't really know what to say.

Sam did, apparently. "What the _hell_ is she doing here?"


	4. Sometimes I Hate You

**Another snow day, another chapter completed! I'm really excited, because I didn't think I would get **_**anything **_**out this week, and here I am, two chapters in like…two days. This is the longest chapter yet, so I hope you enjoy it. The next chapter is all done, I just have to decide whether I'm going to post it soon or let you guys wait for a little while. Help me decide and leave some comments about the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own iCarly. I do own Liz. The End.**

"I told you she didn't want me here," Liz whispered to Freddie, slightly cowering in Sam's steely gaze. Freddie gave Liz a reassuring look before rounding on Sam.

"What did you just _say_?" he demanded, trying to sound more threatening than usual. Sam didn't flinch a bit, and that made Freddie a little bit less confident, but he held his ground.

"I _said_, 'what the hell is she doing here?'" Sam repeated. "God, for such a braniac, you sure are stupid sometimes."

"Sam," Carly murmured in a warning tone. "Chillax." Sam looked at Carly like she was crazy.

"Chillax? Dude, what is the matter with you? This chick just moved to our school and she's already trying to butt into our group! I don't know about you guys, but I definitely don't need another Mandy." Sam folded her arms across her chest and looked just about ready to explode. Geez, for a girl who can't weigh more than 100 pounds, she sure was intimidating.

"Liz is _not_ 'another Mandy' Sam," Freddie argued, trying not to shout. "Liz is a friend who I wanted to hang out with, so _I _invited her to rehearsal. _Is that okay with you_?"

"Clearly _not_, Freddicus."

Freddie fumed for a minute. "I don't care, though, Sam. You know that? I don't."

Sam's face was contorted into a huge scowl. "Do you _want _me to punch you, Benson? Because I swear to God I will!"

"Bring it, Puckett," he challenged. Sam lunged towards Freddie and they started to grapple with each other. She was trying to claw at his face, but Freddie was managing to keep her slightly subdued (this was where all that weight lifting paid off!).

Suddenly, someone forced their way in between them. "Stop! Stop it!" Freddie quickly backed away as he realized that Liz had injected herself into the middle of the fight. Sam wanted to continue fighting, whether it was with him or with Liz, but Carly pulled her away. Liz's eyes were bright and her face was twisted into a grimace.

"Liz…" Freddie began, but she cut him off.

"I told you that I was causing a problem," Liz told him. "I'll just go. You guys have your rehearsal. I'll…bye." With that, Liz grabbed her purse and ran out of the studio, the door swinging behind her. Freddie started to follow after her.

"Hey!" Sam shouted. "We're not done here, Benson!" Freddie whirled around to face her.

"Why, Sam?" he yelled, shocking both Carly _and _Sam. "Why do you have to be such a horrible human being? Why do you have to be vicious towards people for _no reason at all_? Liz hasn't even done anything to you, so you need to get an attitude adjustment! God, there are sometimes when I just hate you, Sam!"

Sam, for once in her life, was speechless.

While Sam and Carly stood there, mouths open, Freddie ran out of the studio to follow Liz. After a few seconds of shocked silence, Carly turned to Sam.

"What was that?" Carly asked. When Sam didn't reply, she started to repeat herself. "Sam, what-."

"I heard you," Sam growled, and then stomped over to the bean bags and threw herself onto one of them. Carly followed and sat as well.

"Do you have an answer then?" Carly asked. Sam bit her lip, angry, and shrugged. "Freddie's…well he's really mad."

"Mad?" Sam snorted. "The nub is _pissed_." Sam fiddled with a strand of her hair. "I don't think…he's ever said something like that to me before."

"Sure he has," Carly reassured. When Sam looked at her funny, she rephrased. "Well, I don't mean that's a good thing but…you guys have fought before, he's said stuff, you've said stuff. You guys are still friends."

"I don't care if I'm friends with that nub!" Sam exclaimed, shooting up out of her bean bag and started to pace angrily. "I could care _less_ if I'm friends with him."

"Well you know, he was right, Sam," Carly commented, standing up as well. "You _were_ unnecessarily vicious to Liz. Why?"

Sam was clearly becoming angrier. "I don't know. I need food."

"I'll get a snack," Carly suggested, but Sam just shook her head.

"Rehearsal's not gonna happen. I'm going home." With that, Sam also left the studio.

"Sam!" Carly called after her. "Sam, wait!" Sam responded by slamming the door. Carly collapsed onto a bean bag again, burying her face in her hands.

Spencer came upstairs a few minutes later. "What's going on?" he asked, sounding concerned and confused. "First that new girl that Freddie has a crush on ran out-."

Carly's head shot up. "What?" she exclaimed. "What do you mean, he has a crush on her? Did he tell you that?"

Spencer looked scared at Carly's reaction. "Nooo…it was just pretty obvious from the way they were flirting whenever they came over earlier…"

"They were _flirting_?" When Spencer nodded, Carly felt a bubble of anger welling up in her chest. "But…Freddie likes _me_, Spencer! Why would he be flirting with someone else?"

"Carly…you've never liked Freddie. Well except for that one time when he saved your life, but I think that we established that you didn't actually love him, so that doesn't count."

"I didn't say I like him _now_," Carly snapped.

"You're sure acting like it, you know?" Spencer sat down on the hood of the fake car. "You know how you're acting? You're acting like a jealous girlfriend."

"I'm not jealous! Liz just moved here _today_! Freddie's just being nice to her."

"If you wanna believe that, kiddo, then that's your issue, but maybe you should talk to Freddie."

Carly shook her head. "There's nothing to talk about."

Spencer sighed. "Alright, fine. Well, why did she storm out of here, so upset?"

"Sam got mad. She doesn't like Liz."

"Is that why Sam left without eating all of our ham?"

"Yeah," Carly sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with her."

_Freddie_

He hadn't been quick enough to catch Liz before she disappeared. All he knew was that she lived on the seventh floor, so he was currently knocking on every door on the seventh floor. He reached 7E and, after a minute, a woman wearing sweats with her hair up in a messy bun answered the door.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked, looking at Freddie curiously.

"Hi, I was looking for Liz Davidson. Does she live here?" Freddie had said this at every apartment and had only gotten strange looks and negative replies so far.

The woman broke out into a smile. "Oh, you must be Freddie," she gushed. "Lizzie told me about you. Come in." Freddie, relieved, walked into the apartment, and Mrs. Davidson closed the door. "I thought Lizzie was going to hang out with you and your friends, but she just came back here. Was your rehearsal cancelled?"

"Something like that," Freddie muttered. "Can I talk to her?"

"Of course, she went to her room down the hallway there. First door on the left."

Freddie thanked her and went down the appropriate hallway. When he came to Liz's door, he hesitated for a moment, and in that hesitation he heard a guitar playing. After listening for a moment, he knocked and the guitar stopped. "What is it, Mom?" he heard Liz call.

"It's me," he answered nervously. A few seconds passed and then the door opened, revealing Liz. Her eyes were slightly red. From crying, Freddie would bet.

"Why are you…" Liz began, and then stopped. "What are you doing here?" she tried again.

"Look, I'm really sorry about how Sam was acting. She's being a complete jerk. I really want to be your friend."

Liz didn't appear to believe him. She shook her head with disbelief and turned, walking back into her room. Freddie followed.

"I showed up and I started causing trouble," Liz explained, sitting on her bed next to a guitar that was lying there. "I can find other friends; I don't want to make issues with you and your best friends."

Freddie snorted. "Sam's not my best friend—Carly is. And _Carly _has no problem with you. I don't care what Sam thinks, she just needs to get over herself." He stood there awkwardly as Liz just stared at him. Finally, Liz shook her head.

"I don't understand you," she commented. "_Why_ are you being so nice? You met me this morning, and now you're going completely out of your way to tell me that you still want to be my friend."

Freddie opened his mouth to reply, but then realized he didn't have an answer. Why _was_ he doing this? Yeah, Liz was a new kid and he wanted her to feel welcome, but would he have done as much for another new kid? He wanted to say yes but honestly? If he had met a new kid, he _might_ have invited them to sit with them at lunch, but no way would he have invited anyone else to an iCarly rehearsal, or gotten into a physical fight with Sam over them.

What was with _this _girl?

Freddie swallowed and tried again. "I don't know. I just…I don't…" All Freddie could do was keep staring at Liz's bright hazel eyes, distracted. "I like you," he finally admitted. "That's all I can think of."

"Oh," Liz whispered. "Well…I want to be your friend too. But…not if it means breaking up you and your other friends."

"I'll talk to Sam," Freddie promised. "She'll chill out. I swear."

Liz smiled and rolled her eyes. "You can't promise that _Sam Puckett _will chill out. I may not know her personally, but remember, I'm an iCarly fan. I know that Sam isn't exactly a reasonable person. Is she even nice to _anyone_ except Carly?"

"She can be." Freddie suddenly found himself remembering…sitting out on the fire escape, talking to Sam and then kissing Sam and not knowing what he felt about Sam…Just thinking about that moment with Sam made his heart flip over in a weird way

Wait, what?

Freddie shook his head and looked at Liz again. Her beautiful eyes and sparkly smile…his heart flipped again.

Okay, one last experiment…

He brought to his mind the memory of kissing Carly, back when they had dated after he saved her life. The way her soft lips had felt against his and the strawberry smell of her hair.

Yup, there it went. His heart once more flipped over.

_Aw shit_, was all he could think.


	5. I Like Freddie

**Alright, so this is chapter five! It's not one of my favorites, but I certainly hope that **_**you **_**like it! I want to thank everyone for all their support and the nice comments—they really make my day and inspire me to write more.**

**DISCLAIMER: Seriously, who doesn't know that Dan Schneider owns iCarly? And clearly, I am not Dan Schneider. But Liz Davidson is owned by me.**

It had been four days since the disastrous iCarly rehearsal. Sam and Freddie were ignoring each other. They hadn't spoken at all, even during the rehearsal they had scheduled to replace the one that had been…um…cancelled.

Carly had been trying to be a mediator, but it was hard. Freddie would talk to her, but every time Sam's name came up, he somehow became mysteriously mute. It just wasn't like him to hold a grudge, so what was the issue here?

And Sam! She would talk about Freddie—oh, she had a _lot _to say about Freddie. "Freddie just met her and already Liz is all he cares about!" she'd yell. "He's ditched lunch every day so she won't have to eat alone." When Carly pointed out that Sam was the reason that Liz couldn't sit with them, it just made her angrier.

She had plenty to say about Liz too. According to Sam, Liz was there to either try to win herself a spot on iCarly, or steal away Freddie from the show like that Valerie girl from a few years ago. Carly had _tried_ to reason with Sam, but Sam was still Sam. And that meant stubborn as a mule.

Carly exhaled deeply as she sat on the couch, trying to study for her history test tomorrow, but not getting anywhere. Truth was, she kind of understood how Sam felt. Freddie _was _kind of ditching them—his best friends!—for a girl he had known not even for a week. What was so great about her?

And in the past few days, Carly had noticed a drop in Freddie's attentiveness towards her. Oh, he certainly wasn't ignoring her like he was Sam, but the little things he had used to do—buying her a Wahoo Punch from the vending machine, carrying her books to class, texting her a smiley face to cheer her up—had just seemed to disappear. What had happened to his crush on her?

Carly gave a small grunt of frustration as she slammed her history book shut and threw it onto the coffee table. At that moment, a knock came to the door and Carly groaned. She picked herself up off the couch and opened the door, expecting Sam or possibly (maybe!) Freddie. What she got was Liz.

Carly blinked a couple of times in surprise. She hadn't actually talked to Liz since that first day. "Uh, Liz," she finally said. "Can I…um, come in?"

"Thanks Carly," Liz breathed, and walked in. Carly closed the door, still confused, and gestured for Liz to sit, doing so herself.

Liz sat, twisting the fringe on her vest (which, Carly noted, was very cute) nervously. "I feel horrible about everything I've caused," she admitted. "I feel like I'm stealing Freddie from his friends and that makes me feel like a complete skunk-bag."

Feeling a pang of guilt, Carly started to deny this, but Liz wouldn't let her. "Don't bother, Freddie's already been telling me that it's not true. But I can't help how I feel about this, and I need to know what I can do to get rid of this issue."

"I…I really don't know," Carly told her. "To be perfectly honest, I don't know if it can be fixed. Sam won't stop being Sam, and Freddie won't talk about it, so…" Carly shrugged. "I want to fix it too, you have no idea." Carly thought about how things used to be before Liz arrived, with Freddie and Sam sniping at each other but being friends.

"Do Freddie and Sam have a history?"

Carly was shocked by the blunt question. "What? Why? Did he say something?"

Liz bit her lip and shrugged. "Not _really_. The other day he started saying something about how Sam could be nice sometimes, but then he got this weird look on his face and stopped talking. It was like he didn't want to remember something."

Struggling for moment internally, Carly finally responded. "I wouldn't call it a _history_. They just…they have the perfect definition of a love/hate relationship, really. But…I think this time they both went too far."

"And it's all my fault," Liz murmured to herself, looking down at her shoes. "I don't know what to do to fix this, Carly, and I'm really sorry."

Carly's heart went out to Liz. Sure, things had changed because of her, but had she really done anything? The girl had just moved to town; that was all! "It's okay, Liz," Carly comforted her. "I don't know what to do either, and that's usually my job."

Liz sighed. "Well…I hope everything works out." With that, Liz stood and walked to the front door. Before leaving, she turned back and smiled. "Have fun doing the show tonight. I'll be watching."

Carly smiled back. She had almost forgotten it would be time for iCarly in only a couple of hours. "Thanks," Carly replied.

With that, Liz opened the door, and revealed Freddie standing there, fist poised to knock on the door.

Carly shot up from the couch. "Freddie!" she exclaimed. "How long have you been there?"

Freddie looked slightly bewildered. "Um, about four milliseconds. I came over to set up some stuff before the show." He held up some wires in his other hand.

"Oh. Okay," Carly said, slightly disappointed that he hadn't come over to talk to her. "So, um…bye Liz."

"Yeah…" Liz replied, looking not at Carly, but at Freddie. "Bye."

"You leaving?" Freddie asked, looking at her too. "Why not hang out? Unless…" Freddie looked over to Carly. "_She's_ not here, is she?" It was clear who that _she _was, and it was the first time that Freddie had even mentioned Sam since the fight.

"No, she's not," Carly responded, a slight snap in her voice.

"That's okay, Freddie," Liz quickly said. "I have to go. My mom still needs help unpacking, so I'll see you later, okay?"

"Awesome," Freddie replied, smiling at Liz. Liz smiled back and left, shutting the door behind her. Freddie and Carly were left in awkward silence for a few seconds.

"So I guess I'll go and set this stuff up," Freddie finally said. Carly shook herself and nodded.

"Yeah, of course. I'll come with you." Freddie had already started up the stairs and Carly hurried to follow him to the studio.

Once in the studio, Carly watched as Freddie connected some wires for a segment on the show tonight. She had no idea what they did, but that was no different from normal. What was different was that, while she was watching him work at his tech cart, Carly noticed that Freddie suddenly seemed more attractive than he ever had before. She was suddenly seeing his muscles and how tall he was and his big, strong-looking hands.

Why had she turned him down so many times before? Freddie was _hot_.

And not only that, but he was sweet, and he was funny, and he was smart. He was one of her best friends and she had always turned him down. Why?

_Because you never liked him_, a small voice in her head reminded her.

_Well maybe I do now,_ she snapped at that voice.

Freddie looked up. "Maybe what?" he asked, looking confused.

Carly's eyes widened. She hadn't realized she'd said that out loud. "Oh…nothing," she said awkwardly, trying to brush it off. "Just talking to myself." Freddie shrugged and went back to his laptop. Carly gulped and started to say something when-.

"_CARLY! SAM'S HERE!_" Spencer was yelling for her. Freddie heard Sam's name and exhaled in an agitated way, but kept working.

"Coming!" Carly answered and, with an apologetic look to Freddie, went down the stairs.

_Sam_

After digging around in the fridge for a few seconds, Sam walked into the living room, holding a bottle of root beer and a ham sandwich. Spencer looked up from his sculpture.

"Hey, is that my sandwich?" he said accusingly.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, I found it. If it is, well, thanks." Sam took a big bite of the sandwich and smiled sarcastically at Spencer.

Carly's feet came pounding down the stairs. "Spencer!" she called, seeing Spencer in the room. "I saw Chuck next to your motorcycle in the parking lot, shouldn't you go and check to make sure he hasn't rigged it to explode?"

"What?" Spencer exploded. "Chuck was next to my motorcycle? Oh my God, it's going to blow up!" With that, Spencer raced out of the room.

"Dude, Chuck was messing with Spencer's bike?" Sam chuckled. "That's hardcore."

"No, Chuck wasn't anywhere near Spencer's bike. I just said that to get him out of here."

Sam blinked. "Okay, um…why?"

"I have something to talk to you about and I don't want Spencer to know," Carly explained, jumping over the back of the couch and gesturing for Sam to join her. Sam cautiously sat.

"Okay, but you do realize that you have a bedroom, right?" Sam pointed out.

Carly looked thoughtful. "Okay, true, but not important anymore."

"Well…what's up then?" Sam asked, taking another big bite of ham.

"I think I like Freddie."

Sam felt a hunk of ham catch in her throat and she started coughing uncontrollably.

"You…what?" she finally gasped, as Carly pounded on her back, trying to stop her from coughing.

"I like Freddie," Carly whispered. "I don't know why, but in the past few days I've suddenly noticed how much he's changed. I mean, he's not the dorky little eighth grader he used to be!"

"Well, yeah, but…it's Freddie, Carly, you've never wanted him before."

Carly looked slightly peeved. "But it's different now! We're older, he's older! Shouldn't you be happy?"

"No," Sam replied. "I've told you before; the thought of you guys together makes me want to cough up blood."

"Well, Sam, I'm sorry, but I'm just trying to be honest with you." Carly sighed. "I wish you and Freddie would talk, too."

"Yeah, well, Fredifer can make the first move. Mama doesn't back down."

Carly rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever." She fiddled with a couch cushion. "Do you think that I should ask Freddie out? I mean, he's been waiting for me to ask him out since, like, the sixth grade, so do you think I should?"

"I…" Sam couldn't think of a way to respond. The thought of Freddie and Carly dating again really _did _make her want to cough up blood, but even more so this time. Why?

_Because…_her own internal voice hissed to her. _You like Freddie too_.


	6. Will You Go Out With Me?

**Okay, readers, welcome back! I love all of your comments! Now, if you check out my profile page here on , you'll notice that I've opened a poll to see who YOU think Freddie should end up with. I have an ending for each girl, but I want to know what you guys would like to see most! It may help me decide which girl…it may not…I'm partial to one ending in particular, so there's no guarantee that the poll will have anything to do with how the story actually ends, but I REALLY want to hear what you guys have to say, so just pop on over there and give me your opinion.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own iCarly or its characters. I do own Liz Davidson.**

Freddie angrily rewrapped the cords. It was a rare moment right now—he didn't want to do iCarly. He would have given just about anything to be able to ditch the show and be…anywhere else. It didn't really matter. He had managed to ignore Sam for the entire rehearsal the day before, but it was _hard_. It was hard not to crack a smile at her jokes and funny skits.

It was especially hard since almost every time he looked at her now, he was flooded with the memory of their mutual first kiss. Why had they kissed each other? Had it _really _just been to get the first kiss out of the way? Because if so, that really sucked. A first kiss that was just business for the pair of them shouldn't have affected him so much. It felt so…right.

And then there was _Carly_. He didn't even _know _about her anymore. First he thought he loved her. Then he thought he was over her. And now he wasn't sure if it was just the continuation of an old habit, or actual feelings for her. Carly was his dream girl—funny, cute, spunky, talented…didn't that mean anything to him?

But Liz…Liz was something else. Liz was the one who understood him. They were alike and different at the same time. Liz was independent and unpredictable and _fun_. Freddie smiled remembering just the other day when he had gone to her apartment. He had found her sitting in a blanket fort in her bedroom, having a pretend campout. They had spent almost two hours in that fort, eating marshmallows and Liz was playing her guitar and Freddie was telling stupid jokes…

Freddie smiled just thinking about her.

He made a decision.

Freddie pulled out his cell phone, dropping the wrapped cords onto the ground and watching them come unwrapped but not caring. He quickly texted a message to Liz.

FROM: Freddie B.

TO: Liz D.

this probly isnt the most romantic way 2 ask, but do u want 2 go out with me sometime Liz? a date?

Pressing send was more difficult than he thought it should be. But he did it and, after waiting what seemed an obscene amount of time, his phone vibrated with a reply.

FROM: Liz D.

TO: Freddie B.

Hmm, let me check my schedule…ah huh…I c…my answer has 2 b…HELL YES. :). Where/wen?

Freddie literally jumped in the air. "Yes!" he whisper-yelled, pumping a fist and nearly dropping his phone.

FROM: Freddie B.

TO: Liz D.

Groovy Smoothie. 2moro. 6? catch movie after?

A few seconds…

FROM: Liz D.

TO: Freddie B.

Gotcha. Definite plan. get ready for icarly now, tho. txt u 2nite.

Freddie felt like his cheeks might fall off, he was grinning so hard.

That smile melted from his face quickly when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and into the studio. He stiffened, knowing it was Carly with Sam. He was ready to ignore her again.

Sam had different plans apparently.

"Benson," he heard her say. He didn't answer, expecting a fight or an insult. "Benson," she repeated. He didn't answer again. "Freddie," she finally said, and Freddie sensed something like…pleading in her voice. He turned.

Sam looked…well, like Sam. But sad. She had a certain look in her eyes that wasn't Sam at all. The Sam that Freddie knew was never like this. And that's why he had to answer.

"What?" Freddie asked, keeping his guard up in case this was an elaborate lure into a fight.

"Can I talk to you?" Sam requested in a low voice, almost like she didn't want Carly to hear, which was weird.

"Sure…" he replied cautiously. "What's up?"

"Out there," Sam clarified, jerking a head towards the hallway. Freddie exchanged a glance with Carly, who just shrugged. He then turned back to Sam and nodded hesitantly. Sam grabbed his wrist and pulled him to the hall.

Out in the hall, Sam didn't say anything. "Well?" Freddie asked. "Are you going to say anything, Sam?"

Sam was nervous. It was obvious. "I don't know how to say it."

"What?"

"_I'm sorry_," she hissed through gritted teeth. Freddie was rather shocked.

He blinked a few times to make sure he hadn't hallucinated. "You've said you're sorry before, Sam," he finally was able to remind her.

"Yeah, but it's different this time, because…" Sam was jittery. "Because I really do feel bad about how I treated you and how I treated Liz. I didn't know why I was acting that way, but…"

"But…you do now?" Freddie tried to finish her sentence. Sam shrugged. "Well…I'm glad that you know that you were wrong," he said carefully. "Does this mean you're going to be nice to Liz?"

Sam looked to struggle with a choice. "Don't just say yes because you think that's the right answer," he warned her. "It really matters to me, because I want her to be around. She and I are…kind of going somewhere."

Confused, Sam looked at Freddie. "Going somewhere? Like…literally?"

"No, not literally," he replied, rolling his eyes. "I mean we're going somewhere as in _romantically_. She and I are going out tomorrow and I don't want to choose between having my friends and having a girlfriend."

Sam blinked a bunch of times. "You're going out with her," she finally said blankly. "That's…um…" Sam glanced into the studio at Carly. "That's…great."

"You don't mean that," Freddie sighed. "You're really mad."

"No…I'm not," Sam reassured him. And then she _smiled _at him. But it wasn't a normal smile, not even a normal Sam smile. It was…different. And it confused him.

He was still riddling this smile out whenever he realized that Sam had walked back into the studio. He started to go in as well, but Carly quickly came out instead. Freddie looked around anxiously.

"I feel like I'm in trouble, and you guys are the teachers who told me to go stand in the hallway," he joked. Carly laughed, a little strangely.

"Listen, Freddie, I was thinking," Carly said, sounding weird and twirling a strand of hair around her index finger. "Do you maybe want to go see that new movie that just came out? The comedy with Ben Stiller?"

"Uh…yeah, I guess," Freddie replied, taken aback and confused as to why she was asking him this out in the hallway. "Wanna see if Sam wants to come?" he suggested. "I can call Gibby and Wendy too…"

Carly frowned. "No, Freddie…" she sighed, frustrated. "I meant…you and me. Like a date."

Oh. _Oh_.

"Carly…" Freddie said, nervous. "No offense…why?"

Carly looked confused and a little hurt. "Why? Well…I thought you liked me Freddie."

"I…well, you never liked me back."

"Uh, what do you call asking you out on a date?"

"Carly!" Freddie exclaimed gently. "I used to like you, but lately I've decided that I don't want to spend my whole high school experience crushing on _one_ girl. I want to…be more than someone's back up, okay?"

Carly blinked. "I…" she paused and started again. "Yeah…I get it."

Freddie put a hand on her shoulder, comforting. "Look, you're my best friend, whether I'm dating Liz or someone else-."

Carly looked up at him, clearly surprised. "Liz? You're _dating _Liz?"

Oh boy…

**That's the end of chapter six! I would like to add that I wrote this chapter while sitting in a blanket fort at midnight. My life is fun!**


	7. A First Kiss

**Thank you guys for your comments as usual. I think I managed to put up my poll on my profile…I'm not entirely sure…thanks for your suggestions and I hope you enjoy CHAPTER SEVEN.**

**DISCLAIMER: iCarly may be on my Christmas list, but somehow I don't think I'm going to get it. Until I do, it doesn't belong to me. Liz Davidson, however, does.**

"That was _the _best movie I've ever seen," Liz laughed, walking into the Bushwell Plaza lobby with Freddie. "I mean, the part where he jumped out of the tree and the monkey just watched? Priceless!"

"I know, right?" Freddie agreed, chuckling too. He pressed the button for the elevator and, after a moment's hesitation, slipped an arm around Liz's shoulders. She smiled at him and leaned her head on his shoulder. With a ding, the elevator arrived and they both stepped in. Freddie pressed the seven and they zoomed off.

"So I talked to Sam," Freddie commented as they stood in the elevator. Liz seemed surprised.

"Really? She spoke to you?" she asked, shocked. "I thought she was ignoring you."

"I did too," he shrugged. "But she came out and actually _apologized. _ It was so…un-Sam-like."

"Seems like it…"

Freddie smiled slightly. "But she'll be nicer now. I know she will."

Liz didn't look like she believed him. "Uh huh…I'll believe that when I see it." Freddie nodded. That was an understandable reaction.

The elevator stopped at Liz's floor and they both stepped out, walking slowly to apartment 7E. Once they reached the front door, Liz smiled and took out her key, fiddling with it in her hand. "I had a nice time," she told Freddie, then laughed. "I'm sorry, that was _so_ cliché."

Freddie shrugged. "I'd rather you be cliché than have you say you had a bad time."

"Good point," Liz said, impressed. "Well I did have a good time. Thanks Freddie." She paused for a minute before adding, "You're a great guy."

Freddie nodded, nervous. "I had a good time too. I like you a lot."

"Ditto," Liz giggled. She put her key into the lock on the door and opened it. "I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah," Freddie agreed. Liz started to walk inside her apartment. "Uh, wait," Freddie suddenly said, and she did. Freddie hesitated for a moment before placing his hands around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss.

She seemed surprised at first, but certainly didn't object to his sudden kiss and her arms slowly wrapped around his neck.

Her lips were soft and her breath smelled fresh and minty. _This girl is the most _beautiful_ girl I've ever met_, was all that Freddie could even think. She was. Liz was beautiful on the outside with her soft brown hair and smoky hazel eyes. She was beautiful on the inside with her uniqueness and fun-natured personality. She was just beautiful.

But then Carly popped into his head.

All of the sudden, it was like he was comparing this kiss to the kisses he shared with Carly during the short time he dated her.

Sam too. That kiss they had shared on the fire escape…

In just a five second kiss, all three of the girls in his life had come to his mind.

Freddie broke out of the kiss, maybe a little suddenly. He hoped that Liz wouldn't notice.

If she did, she didn't show it. She just smiled and they hugged before, with a final goodbye, she walked into her apartment and shut the door. Freddie ran both his hands through his hair, exhaling deeply, and quickly ran up the stairs one floor to his apartment.

As soon as he reached his front door, Carly's door opened. Freddie turned to see Sam exiting the Shay's apartment. "Oh…hey," she said, surprised to see him there.

"Hey," he greeted. "What's up?"

Sam shrugged. "Nothin' much…Carly wanted me to come over and watch chick flicks with her."

Freddie's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "I thought you guys didn't like chick flicks? I mean, we even spoofed them on iCarly that one time."

Sam looked at him like he was an idiot. "Yeah, but chick flicks are what you watch whenever you get shot down by the guy you like."

"Oooh…" Freddie said guiltily. "She's upset? I mean…I didn't think she was." At the time, Carly had seemed okay with the whole, _I'm dating Liz_ news.

_Flashback_

"_Liz? _ _You're _dating_ Liz?" Carly was looking up at Freddie expectantly, a little bit of hurt showing in her face. Freddie bit his lip, feeling cornered. _

"_Well…yeah," he finally admitted. "I mean, we're going on a date tomorrow. We're not, like…boyfriend/girlfriend but…"_

"_But you want it to be like that," Carly finished for him, looking down. _

_Freddie decided honesty was the best policy here. "I do," he confirmed. "Carly, I liked you for a long time. Since, what, sixth grade? I've just decided to move on. I like Liz a lot and I think she likes me too."_

_Carly nodded. "I understand."_

_Freddie smiled, glad she did understand. "That's great. We're cool right? Still best buds?" He held out a fist for her to bump._

_Rolling her eyes and smiling back, Carly fist bumped him. "Still best buds."_

_End Flashback_

Sam raised her eyebrows at Freddie. "Of course she's going to _seem _like she's okay, Fredwina. Carly isn't gonna tell the guy who ripped her heart out _that _he ripped her heart out."

Freddie winced. "Awesome choice of words, Sam. You sure know how to make someone feel better."

"Yeah, well fortunately that wasn't my goal," Sam told him, sounding more like her old self.

Shaking his head, Freddie started to walk towards the Shay's front door. "I have to go and talk to her…" Sam caught his arm.

"No _way _Fredwardo," Sam scolded. "I sat through that stupid traveling pants movie so she'd pull herself together, and I am _not _letting you just walk in there and mess her up again."

With a sigh, Freddie nodded. "Fine," he muttered. "I'm going to talk to her though. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Sam snorted, for some reason. When Freddie gave her a strange look, she just returned his gaze, steely and strong, like usual. Shrugging, Freddie reached into his pocket for his key. He came up with nothing.

"Oh, _no_," he groaned, and tried to open the front door. Of course it was locked.

"Locked out, nub?" Sam asked, amused. Freddie gave her a Look. "Why not just knock on the door? Your mom'll come running, hysterically screaming about germs or bacteria or something." Sam laughed.

"My mom's in Fresno for the Aggressive Parenting Conference," Freddie reminded her. "She's not back until tomorrow afternoon." He turned back to the door and tried once again to open it.

_Shick._ Freddie started at the sound from behind him and saw Sam with a switch knife in her hand. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, holding up his hands. "Hey, I thought we were good now, Sam, I don't think we need to have a murder!"

Sam rolled her eyes at him. "Relax Freddumbo," she told him, and walked over to his door. Within two minutes, she had his door open and was placing her knife back into her pocket. Freddie was impressed.

"You picked my lock with a knife?" he asked. "No wonder you've been to juvie so many times."

"Yeah, well, it's a skill," Sam defended herself. She walked into Freddie's apartment.

"Hey!" Freddie called, and followed. He made his way into the kitchen and found Sam about to open the fridge. "So now you're going to steal my food?"

"I got you in your house," she challenged. "I get some reward."

Freddie got an idea. He walked over to the fridge and leaned against it, effectively blocking Sam's access to it. "Well, my mom made pot roast the other night. I think there's some left."

"Let me at it, Benson."

Freddie held up a finger, signaling for her to wait. "You can have some of this delicious pot roast on one condition and one condition only."

"I got you into your house and now you're placing conditions on your food?" Sam whined, but didn't try to get past him. Freddie took that as a cue to continue.

"You have to tell me why you hate Liz so much," Freddie stated. Sam's eyes noticeably widened and she looked around nervously. "Come on, Puckett," Freddie challenged. "You know you want to tell me."

Sam opened her mouth to answer.


	8. Stuck In An Elevator

**Wow, aren't you guys spoiled—two chapters in one day! This one was pretty easy to write, but I still think it's good. It's one of my favorites anyways. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Still DON'T own iCarly or its characters. Still DO own Liz Davidson.**

"Well?" Freddie asked as Sam stood there, mouth half-open, poised to answer but not actually answering. "Come on, Sam, just tell me."

Sam finally spoke. "In your dreams, Benson," she hissed and stormed out of the apartment. Freddie blinked in surprise before quickly following her out into the hall. She had disappeared quickly. He careened around the corner to see her blonde curls flouncing into the elevator. He raced down the hall and just made it in before the doors closed.

Gasping for breath, Freddie saw that Sam had anxiously been pressing the _Close Doors_ button. "Were you trying to get me killed?" he exclaimed. "I barely made it in here!"

"That was the _point_," Sam growled. Whenever Freddie gave her a horrified look, she corrected herself. "Not for you to get killed, you nub, for you not to _follow _me."

"Yeah, well, why?" he asked, still trying to catch his breath. Sam noticed this and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you got into shape, Benson," she commented. "Can't run from your front door to the elevator without collapsing a lung? Pathetic."

"_Sam._" When Sam didn't say anything in response, Freddie tried again. "Come on, Sam, you have to tell me."

"I don't have to tell you anything," she objected. "I never tell you anything."

"Yeah, you do," Freddie argued. "You tell me lots of things. You told me about how you want to be an invisible ninja when you grow up."

Sam smiled at that, against her will. "That's not the same, you nub."

"Come _on_, Sam, I just want to know," he begged.

"Forget it, Benson!" she shouted, angry that she was literally cornered. "Just leave me alone."

At that moment, the elevator jerked to a halt. Sam smirked at Freddie and waited for the doors to open, but they didn't. Slowly, Sam and Freddie exchanged a glance and then, simultaneously, looked up at the numbers that showed what floor they were on. None of the numbers were lit.

"Awesome!" Sam exclaimed. "Now you got us stuck on the elevator!"

"What did I do?" Freddie was flabbergasted. "How in the _hell_ could I have caused the elevator to break?" Sam didn't answer, so Freddie just shook his head and reached over to press the fire alarm. Sam caught his hand.

"Don't press that!" she exclaimed. "I hate the noise!"

"How else do you expect to get out of here?" Freddie asked. "There's no magical way for them to know that the elevator is stuck with us in it!" Sam rolled her eyes and pulled her cell phone out. "What are you doing?"

"Texting Carly," she told him like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "She'll go down to the lobby and tell Lewbert that the elevator is stuck, he'll call the repairman, and _we_ won't have to sit here getting our ears blown out with a fire alarm!"

Freddie considered this for a second. "That's…actually not a bad idea." Sam snorted and finished texting, putting her phone back in her pocket. They stood there awkwardly for a moment.

He broke the silence. "Are you going to tell me or not?" Freddie asked, putting his hands in his pockets and turning to face Sam.

Sam looked at him like he was stupid. "Wow, you're slow. _Clearly_ I'm not."

"But why?" Freddie wanted to know. "What could possibly be so bad about Liz? Do you…I don't know, do you know her or something? Do you and she have some sort of dramatic past?"

"As if," Sam laughed. "You're way off track."

"Well, set me straight then, Sam," Freddie offered. "Correct me. Just tell me _why_."

"I don't have to tell you why!" Sam yelled at me, turning to face me. Freddie ran both of his hands through his hair.

"Why is this such a big deal to you?" he shouted back. "Come on, tell me!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Come on, Sam!"

They had moved so close together in their confrontation that they were practically standing nose to nose. Sam had a horrible scowl on her face and Freddie was sure he looked pretty angry too.

"Fine!" Sam finally exclaimed. "Do you want to know why I hate Liz so much? She has something that I want!"

Gripping his hair in both hands, Freddie grew more frustrated. "What? What could she possibly have that you want?"

Sam grabbed Freddie by the front of the shirt. He instinctively winced, expecting her to punch him or something. He wasn't prepared for her to wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.

Freddie, shocked, barely had time to react before she pulled away and looked at Freddie with a desperate look in her eyes. "_You_," she whispered to him in reply to his question. Freddie didn't respond; instead he wrapped his arms around Sam's waist, pulled her in, and kissed her again.

Kissing Sam was different from kissing Liz. Liz was soft, and sweet, and much more of a girly-girl in her kissing techniques. Sam was more forceful, aggressive. Her lips, however, were just as soft as Liz's. Freddie could smell the ribs she had eaten at Carly's on her breath. On any other girl, this may have been a turn-off; on Sam it was alluring.

Winding his fingers in Sam's long, blonde curls, Freddie could only wonder why he and Sam always argued. Was it because they were opposites? She was the rough and tough tomboy. He was the nerd. Did they really have anything in common?

Yes. They did. They were obviously both crazy for each other.

The elevator suddenly jerked into motion, startling Freddie and Sam out of their make-out session. Shocked, they both slowly backed away to opposite sides of the elevator. There were no words for what had just happened. Freddie couldn't help but think about Liz—beautiful, wonderful Liz. He had just cheated on her.

_Well, technically, we aren't _official_ boyfriend/girlfriend…_he tried to tell himself, but then he realized the sad truth. He had cheated on Liz.

The elevator arrived in the lobby. As the doors opened, Freddie and Sam could hear Carly talking.

"I just don't see how you managed to get it to work by throwing a shoe at the button," she was saying.

"I wasn't trying to fix it!" Lewbert shrieked. "I was trying to hit _you_ so you'd get out of my _lobby_!" He was waving a magazine in the air: Wart Weekly.

Carly turned towards the elevator doors and looked surprised. "Oh," she whispered. "I didn't…Sam you didn't say that…Freddie was in the elevator with you."

"Didn't I?" Sam said not-so-smoothly. "Whoops."

With a glance at Sam, Freddie walked out of the elevator. "Carly, I-."

She cut him off. "I gotta go, uh…" she stuttered. "Spencer's working on a sculpture and he needs my help…bye." With that, Carly got into the service elevator that led to her apartment and the doors quickly closed.

Sam walked out of the elevator as well. Freddie turned to her, but didn't get a chance to speak. "I'll see you later, Benson," Sam said in a rush, and brushed past Freddie, hurrying out the front door.

Freddie stared after her, terribly confused. He just stood there for a moment. "What is wrong with these girls, Lewbert?" he asked, not looking away from the front door. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Do?" Lewbert screamed. "I'll tell you what you can do! _Get out of my lobby!_"

"Awesome," Freddie replied sarcastically. "I'll be seeing you then." With a sarcastic salute, Freddie headed back to his apartment.

He decided to take the stairs.


	9. On The Rooftop

**Oh my gosh, this chapter is **_**LONG**_**! I'm 99% sure that the next chapter will be the last one before the finale, so yeah! I've made my decision about the finale. I still have all three endings written and it's really hard to choose, so I'm going to put all three—in order of how they do in my poll. So, first place will be the real ending and the other two are the alternate endings. I hope that makes everyone happy! Enjoy chapter nine**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or its characters. I do own Liz Davidson.**

_Carly_

Cuddling up to her giant teddy bear, Carly sadly listened to her Pear Pod playing her most sad, romantic songs. She'd been like this ever since she went down to the lobby to rescue Sam and had inadvertently gotten a face full of Freddie. Her heart was hurting, but her brain was punishing her.

_You rejected him so, _so _many times, _her brain would say. _You had every chance in the world and you blew it. He was waiting for you since the _sixth grade_. He has every right to move on. You have no right to be like this._

Her heart didn't really respond with any reason. It just kept up a wordless ache. It was like a throb, paining her with each beat. _Thud. Thud. Thud._

She sniffed and adjusted her head on her pillow. As soon as she did that, however, she realized that it gave her a perfect view of her framed picture of her and Freddie on her dresser top. She was standing with Freddie in the iCarly studio, both of them wearing crazy hats and making funny faces. In the picture, she could see that Freddie was looking at Carly out of the corner of his eye, checking her out, admiring her.

It made her angry. Carly grabbed the first thing she could reach—an orange on her bedside table—and threw it at the picture. She missed, of course, and instead knocked her piggy bank off of the dresser. Luckily, it didn't break, but it still made a loud _boom_ when it hit the ground.

Soon, Carly heard feet running up the stairs and, shortly after that, a crash into her bedroom door.

"_OW!_" It was Spencer. Carly sat up in bed.

"You okay?" she called, her voice expressionless.

"Your door is locked!" Spencer shouted as an answer. "I ran into it!"

Carly shrugged. "That seems like it would be your own fault." She shrank back down onto her bed.

"Carly, I heard a crash, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I threw an orange."

"…You threw an orange? …Why?"

Carly sat up again, agitated. "Because I decided it would be fun to try and kill Mr. Porkers with it!"

"Mr. Porkers…your piggy bank? Why did you try to kill your piggy bank with an orange?"

Carly gave a scream of frustration. "I was being sarcastic Spencer!"

"Well, excuse me," he said in a mock insulted voice. Carly just curled back up in bed and didn't respond. After a minute, he knocked on the door. "Come on, Carly, let me in."

"No," Carly denied in a small voice.

"Carly, I'm _worried _about you. Unlock the door."

"I don't want to have a talk, Spencer."

Spencer was silent and soon Carly heard him walk away. She was relieved and went back to feeling sorry for herself.

It didn't last long. She heard Spencer's footsteps return, her doorknob jiggle a little bit, and then Spencer walked into the room, completely casually. Carly sat up, still clutching her teddy bear, shocked.

"How'd you get in?" she asked. Spencer raised his eyebrows at her.

"Carly, I may not act like it sometimes, but I am the adult and it is my apartment." Spencer held up a set of keys. "I have keys."

Carly scowled and pulled her legs up to her chest so Spencer had room to sit. Once he was sitting, he looked at Carly seriously. "What's going on Carly?"

"It's nothing," Carly said in a small voice. "It's stupid."

"It's not stupid if it's making you this miserable, Carly," Spencer corrected her. "Come on…tell big brother what's wrong or I'll just have to tickle it out of you." Spencer started tickling Carly's ribs and she giggled uncontrollably.

"Okay! Okay! Stop!" she begged, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. When Spencer stopped, Carly caught her breath and then sighed. "It's…Freddie."

Spencer's expression was one of nervousness and slight terror. "Oooh," he groaned. "Boy troubles…Should I call Sam?"

"No," Carly told him, rolling her eyes. "See, I knew you couldn't help."

"It's not like that, Carly. I just…well…"

Carly became a little irritated. "What, Spencer? What do you have to say?"

Looking trapped, Spencer took a deep breath before continuing. "Well…don't you think you already had your chance with Freddie? Can you really blame him for wanting to move on? I mean, I think I speak for all guys when I say that being shot down over and over again isn't fun. It makes sense that he'd want to get over you."

With a groan, Carly got off of the bed. She walked over and picked up her piggy bank, replacing it on the dresser. "Don't you think I've been _telling_ myself that?" She picked up the photo of her and Freddie. "I don't know why I suddenly like him, I just _do_."

Spencer considered that. "Do you think that…maybe you're just in love with the idea of him being in love with you?" he shrugged. Carly turned to face Spencer, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe that you're only jealous because all of Freddie's attention isn't on you anymore. You just want him to be in love with you…so you always know that someone's in love with you no matter what." Spencer thought for a minute. "He's kind of like your backup."

That brought back a memory.

_Flashback_

"_Carly!" Freddie exclaimed gently. "I used to like you, but lately I've decided that I don't want to spend my whole high school experience crushing on _one_ girl. I want to…be more than someone's back up, okay?"_

_End Flashback_

"I think that's what Freddie thinks too," Carly whispered. "But I don't know if that's true." She sniffled, her heart aching again. "What if I always liked him, but I didn't realize it, Spencer? I just don't know what to do."

Spencer didn't answer, just held out his arms to her. Carly immediately ran over and collapsed into her big brother's caring hug.

_Freddie_

The walls of Freddie's room were suddenly too constricting. He had been sitting on the floor of his bedroom for at least an hour, unsure of how to deal with the situation at hand. Who did he like?

He didn't _want _it to be Carly. He had wasted _six years_ pining for Carly. It was time to move on from her, wasn't it? Or was this his one chance that the universe was offering him?

It _couldn't_ be Sam. Freddie and she had started out as complete _enemies_. Sure, they were something resembling friends now, but was that enough? They had chemistry; that much was obvious. But didn't a relationship need to be built on something more? And did Sam really _want _a relationship?

It was hard to believe that it _could _be Liz. Things were moving so fast with her, but it felt natural. Sure, she hadn't even been in Seattle a week yet, but they just had a connection. She had the spontaneous nature that Freddie lacked, and they balanced each other out.

Looking around, Freddie's eyes kept falling on things that reminded him of each girl. His old crutches from when he had saved Carly's life (and subsequently dated her) were poking out from under his bed. An empty root beer bottle made him think of Sam. His backpack made him think about meeting Liz for the first time, and the instant _click_ they'd had.

He couldn't think in here.

Bounding up from the floor, Freddie quickly got out of his apartment and, with a short glance at Carly's door, ran up the stairs to the roof.

If his mom knew that he did this, he'd be a dead man. But this was the place where he came when he needed to think. The door was never locked because…well he didn't know why the door was never locked. Probably Lewbert's fault.

Right when he opened the door, he immediately heard music. Guitar music. He looked around, confused, and saw a familiar shadow sitting on the ground a few feet away.

"Liz," he breathed. "What's up?"

Liz was startled and nearly dropped her guitar. "Oh!" she exclaimed. Then she smiled nervously. "Hi…what are you doing up here?"

Freddie shrugged. "This is kind of where I come to…think and stuff."

Liz nodded. "Oh…so I'm stealing your spot right now, right? Sorry. I can go if you want me to…" She started to stand up, but Freddie chuckled and gestured for her to stay. He sat down next to her.

"What are _you _doing up here?" he asked her. Liz sighed and looked around, shrugging.

"I'm scared of heights," she commented. Freddie, confused, looked at her and then looked around, confirming that they were, in fact, on the roof.

"You're…afraid of heights?" he questioned. When she nodded, he just sputtered for a minute. "Why are you up here, then? We're like, ten stories up! I don't really know, maybe eleven, depends on how you're counting!"

Liz set down her guitar in front of her. "Yes, but I hate being afraid of heights," she explained. "I'm trying to cure myself." She looked around. "Never mind the fact that I'm sitting in the very _middle _of the roof, I'm still sitting on a roof. And I keep picturing the roof crumbling to pieces, making me fall to my doom, but I'm going to sit on this roof until I'm not scared anymore."

Freddie was astounded. This was one of the amazing things about Liz. She was challenging herself and making herself do things that made her uncomfortable. She was brave and free-spirited. "If this roof crumbles to pieces—which it won't—I would never let you fall to your doom," Freddie assured her, placing an arm around her and pulling her close into him. She rested her head on his chest for a minute before turning and kissing him.

Once again, kissing Liz made him think of kissing Carly and Sam. Mostly Sam, and how he had kissed her not two hours ago in the elevator. He couldn't just keep that fact attacking his mind.

Freddie broke the kiss, and this time Liz noticed. She frowned. "Something wrong?" she asked, sounding so innocent and sweet. It broke Freddie's heart that he had to tell her this.

"I have to talk to you," he sighed. Liz nodded and scooted away from Freddie so that they were sitting facing each other, not touching. With a deep breath, Freddie began. "I have a…past with Carly and Sam." When Liz didn't say anything, just stared at him, he continued. "Carly and I used to date…just once for a few days sophomore year. I didn't think it really meant anything, but lately…she's been wanting to date me again."

Liz nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "And what about Sam?"

Another deep breath. "Sam was my first kiss," he explained to her. "We both wanted to get it out of the way…you probably remember all that 'never kissed anyone' drama from iCarly a couple years ago…well…Sam and I decided it would be better to just be able to say we'd both had our first kiss so we just…did. Kissed, I mean."

Nodding again, Liz still remained expressionless. "And that's it?"

Freddie bit his lip nervously, wanting so badly to say yes. "No," he admitted. "Sam and I…okay, I wanted to know why she was so angry at you, so I tried to get her to tell me and then she wouldn't, so I followed her into the elevator and then it got stuck and so we started fighting and then she told me that you had me and she wanted me so she was mad and then she kissed me and I kissed her too." Freddie said all of that in a rush.

Liz blinked, some expression finally appearing. "And that happened…?"

"Tonight," Freddie said in a small voice. "After I dropped you off at your apartment. Liz, I'm sorry, I don't know why I kissed her, but it was just like a natural reaction."

"Right, I get it," Liz said, not sounding like she got it at all. "You just have so much in _common _with Sam. It's understandable. It's not like she insults you all the time." She was angry. Freddie understood that.

"Liz, I'm sorry," Freddie pleaded, his voice breaking. "I'm so sorry."

Liz stood, and so did Freddie. "What do you want me to say, Freddie? 'Oh it's okay, I don't care that you gave me my first kiss and then a few minutes later was making out with Sam in an elevator. That's cool!'"

Freddie was surprised. "That was your first kiss?" When Liz scowled at him, he coughed. "Sorry, not the important part right now."

"I want you to tell me if this is worth continuing. I thought you were special, and I thought I was special to you," Liz said.

"You are," Freddie tried to reassure her. "I'm just…I was just confused."

"You _were _or you _are_?" When Freddie didn't answer, Liz grabbed her guitar and started walking away. Freddie followed.

"No, Liz, wait, please," he begged, grabbing her shoulder. She jerked it out of his grip and whirled around to face him.

"No, Freddie!" she exclaimed, but then calmed down a little. "Clearly you have some conflicting feelings. You need to sort those out before we can have anything…I'm sorry."

With that, she turned and left the roof, leaving Freddie by himself.


	10. A Choice To Make

**Thank you for your comments! This is chapter ten. I hope you enjoy it! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or its characters. I do own Liz Davidson.**

Monday morning took forever to arrive. Freddie didn't sleep at all after Liz effectively broke up with him out on the roof. And as he stared out his bedroom window at the sun rising, Freddie couldn't help but chastise himself for just how badly he had screwed things up—with _everyone_. He had hurt Liz. He had hurt Carly. He had hurt Sam. He hated hurting people and wanted it to stop.

All that he could do was get up, get dressed, go to school, and hope that maybe they would forgive him.

The day started out badly. He took too long in the shower and made himself miss the bus, forcing him to walk to school and miss homeroom. Actually…maybe that was a good thing, since he sat next to Liz in homeroom. And then, after missing homeroom, he decided it wouldn't be too horrible to skip first period math class, and instead went into the boys' bathroom.

He leaned up against the wall and slid down to the ground, dropping his backpack next to him. His life had gotten _so_ severely screwed up in just a week. Why? What had he done to deserve this?

The door to the bathroom opened and Freddie looked up, sure it was going to be a teacher or the principal there to bust him for skipping class. Instead, it was Gibby. "Hey Gib," Freddie said glumly.

Gibby looked slightly surprised to see Freddie. "Hey," he replied. "Why are you sitting in the boys' bathroom?"

Freddie threw his hands up in the air. "Because my life is crumbling to bits and pieces around me," was his explanation. Gibby accepted that. Nodding, he sat down next to Freddie.

"Does it have something to do with that new girl, Liz?" he asked. "She's in my class right now—asked me if I'd seen you today."

"Really?" Freddie asked anxiously. "She asked about me? What else did she say?"

"Just that," Gibby told him. "Carly was looking for you too."

"Oh no," Freddie groaned. "Gibby, do you ever have problems with girls?"

Gibby gave a confident _pfft_. "Hey, all the ladies want a crack at the Gibster," he explained. "But I've been with Tasha for three years now. I only look at the girl that I love." He shrugged.

Freddie pondered these words. They made sense, but how did he know which one he loved? Furthermore, Freddie definitely couldn't deal with seeing these girls during classes today. He couldn't stay here. Quickly getting up and grabbing his backpack, Freddie saluted Gibby. "Thank you, my friend, for you are wise beyond your years," he told him with a sad smile. Gibby returned the salute, a bit of a weirded out look on his face. Freddie left the bathroom and left the school.

Freddie only considered the fact that he was technically skipping school for a minute. Besides, his mom would be home later today and if he just barely coughed, she'd have an excuse for school out in a second. All he had to do was say he'd woken up feeling sick and no more problem. So Freddie headed back to his apartment to think through the issue.

However, one look at the closed, cluttered mess of his bedroom and instead, after dropping his school bag, went to the roof.

Standing up on the roof in the cool air wasn't as freeing as it usually was. It was instead making him think about how he had stood there last night while Liz had walked out on him, hurt and betrayed. Freddie sat down in the middle of the roof, right where they had sat last night. It was still a good place to think.

First there was Liz. She was beautiful—svelte, dark haired, gorgeous eyes, glittering smile. She had a face that reminded him of a model, with her sculpted cheekbones and tan complexion. She was also funny, sweet, wild, free…she was a unique person and challenged herself and, in doing so, she challenged Freddie. He wanted to be more like her, to be as brave as her. She was _fun_ and unpredictable.

There was also Carly. Carly, Carly, Carly. Ever since Freddie had first laid eyes on her, he had sworn that she would be his. Her eyes and smile enchanted him every day. She was fun too, maybe not as big on taking risks as Liz was, but still fun in her own ways. She was definitely funny, and he had yet to meet someone who truly disliked her. Carly was so caring and so trusting. But she had _always _rejected him. What if she suddenly decided that she didn't want him anymore? How could he handle the rejection _again_?

And finally, Sam. Samantha Puckett, the girl who he hated all through middle school and somehow became sort-of friends with in high school. She frequently caused him both physical and emotional pain, but lately had proved that she could be more than just a bully. They had shared their first kiss together and at that moment had both realized how much chemistry the pair of them had. Sam was beautiful too—her blonde hair was different than the brunettes Freddie usually went for (Carly, Liz, Shelby Marx, Valerie…), but that didn't matter. She was still gorgeous. And she was funny. She may be a vicious individual, but he knew that Sam was just guarded, and he wanted to be the one to break down her walls and see who she was inside of her tough exterior.

Of course…choosing any one of these girls would mean he would be hurting the two that he _didn't _pick. As he hated hurting people, that immediately made him think of a fourth option…what if he chose none of them?

He tried to dismiss that idea, thinking it would never work out, but it was a very tempting concept. This way, no one would be hurt and the girls wouldn't have any resentment towards each other. He couldn't possibly be the one to ruin their friendships.

He groaned, and ran both hands through his hair. This was too hard of a decision to make! Whatever choice he made, it would hurt someone. Wasn't there an option where hurting someone wasn't possible.

_No_, his mind whispered. _And you've known that all along. But you also know what you want to do. You just have to stop over thinking for once in your life and listen to your heart._

For once, his brain was telling him to listen to his heart. Freddie closed his eyes and breathed deeply, concentrating on what he really wanted.

It wasn't hard really. As his conscious had told him, he knew all along what he wanted. He had made his decision long ago.

He decided...

**CLIFFHANGER! Of course! Did you think you would find out in this chapter? Nah, I'm not that nice. Now remember, the first place winner of the poll (of course, my vote counts twice since I wrote it…) will be the real ending, and there will be not one, not two, but THREE ALTERNATE ENDINGS, in which Freddie makes different choices : ). So hurry and cast your vote, because the finale will be posted tomorrow or the next day!**


	11. The Decision

**Here it is! **

**This is the OFFICIAL ENDING to Torn Between Girls!**

**This ending won the poll with 40% of the votes and is my own personal favorite (so it probably would have been the real ending even if it lost the poll…tee hee).**

**I hope you enjoy it! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or its characters. I do own Liz Davidson.**

Waiting, waiting, waiting. That's what the day turned into for Freddie. It was a giant waiting game, sitting at his window, waiting, waiting, waiting. Finally, at exactly 3:48 PM—he knew for a fact, because he looked at the clock at the exact moment, and he would always remember exactly what time—he saw the big yellow school bus trundle up in front of Bushwell Plaza.

He didn't even wait to see her get off the bus. He vaulted away from the window, running down the hall to the front door, stopping only to check his hair in the mirror above the end table. At the front door he encountered a small obstacle—his mother arriving home.

"Freddie!" she cried out, pulling him in for a tight hug. "Oh, I missed you so much! I brought us back a new jigsaw puzzle, and I know you're going to just love it!"

Freddie expertly maneuvered himself out of his mother's hug. "Sounds great, Mom," he told her as he swiftly moved around her and towards the door. "But I gotta go do something right now." Freddie opened the door and started to leave, before he remembered something. "Oh, yeah, could you possibly write a note saying that I was sick today? Thanks!"

"What—Freddie!" his mom sputtered as he sprinted out the door, shutting it behind him. He sped down the stairs and burst onto the seventh floor, running right into the person he was looking for.

"Oh my God!" Liz screamed, scared. "Freddie! Oh my _Lord_, you just gave me a freaking _heart attack_!" Liz placed a hand over her heart. Freddie grinned.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I really am. About scaring you. But also for everything else. Liz, I've decided. The only girl I really want is you."

Liz was interested to hear that, and smiled. "Well, Freddie," she said, not looking entirely sure yet. "How can I be positive that you're really decided?"

"Try this," Freddie suggested, and pulled Liz in for a romantic kiss.

Kissing Liz made Freddie wonder how he could have ever thought that she wasn't the one for him. She was amazing, incredible, and beautiful. She seemed like his other half. Freddie wasn't sure if he believed in soulmates, but if they did exist…he had no doubt in his mind that Liz was his. And he didn't think of Carly or Sam once when he was kissing her this time.

He wasn't sure how long they kissed, but when they separated, he knew that there was something else that he had to do. "Liz," he whispered to her. "I have to…"

"I know," she whispered back. "Try not to break their hearts too badly." She gave him a smile and nudged him towards the staircase. He kissed her on the cheek and then sprinted back upstairs.

On the eighth floor, he loitered in front of Carly's door. He finally knocked and, after a few seconds, Spencer answered.

"Oh," Spencer said slightly stiffly. "Freddie. He who has broken my baby sister's fragile heart. What a pleasure."

Freddie raised his eyebrows at Spencer. "You're…mad at me?"

Spencer relaxed. "No, not really, because I still wanna be buds. I just felt like the moment needed some tension. That's my job, after all, as big brother."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have blamed you if you were mad at me," Freddie admitted. "I need to talk to Carly."

Spencer pointed to the ceiling. "iCarly studio with Sam."

"Of course she's with Sam," Freddie groaned. "Thanks…" With that, Freddie made his way up the stairs. He took one big deep breath outside of the iCarly studio and then opened the door.

Sam and Carly, playing Violin Hero, both turned around to look at him. Carly immediately paused the game. "Hey Freddie," she said with a smile. "Can we talk?" Then, without waiting for an answer , "'Kay, great!" Carly set down her violin and pulled Freddie back into the hallway. She shut the door, took a deep breath, and folded her arms across her chest.

Freddie was nervous. "Are you gonna beat me up?" he asked hesitantly. Carly laughed.

"No!" she exclaimed, amused. She stopped laughing and grew more serious. "Okay…here's the thing. I just want you to know…I know you picked Liz."

"You do? …How? _I _didn't know until this morning."

Carly shook her head, still smiling. "I know _you _Freddie. And I want you to know that I'm okay."

"You are?"

"Yeah," Carly assured him. "I talked with Spencer and—while this may shock you—I think what he said made sense…I want things to be right again, and for us to be best friends."

Freddie broke out into a grin. "That's great Carly, thank you." He hugged her tightly. "You don't know how much this means to me."

Since he was hugging her, he couldn't see how sad her expression really was.

They hugged for a few more seconds before Carly pulled away. "I also know that you need to talk to Sam," she informed him. "She told me. Everything."

Freddie squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them again. "That's great. Awesome."

Carly gave him a weak smile. "You need to talk to her," she reminded him again. While she walked back inside the studio, Freddie just kind of leaned in the door.

"Hey Sam?" he called, realizing how stupid this looked. Sam looked at him and turned away. "Sam," he insisted, and she finally came out to the hall.

"What's up, Freddio?" Sam asked casually. "Is it my turn for the heartbreak?"

Freddie cleared his throat. "It's not really easy for me when you put it like that."

"I don't want to make it easy for you, though," Sam told him, putting her hands on her hips. "This shouldn't be easy for you."

Freddie nodded. "You're right. You're right…look, Sam…"

"Okay, you know what? Save it, Benson." Sam shook her head, her lips pursed. "I was completely honest with you. I told you how I felt. I _kissed_ you, for God's sake. And now I just don't want to hear how you've decided that Liz is the one for you, because you know what? I'm not convinced that she is."

Sighing, Freddie nodded again. "Sam, I know how you feel. You're mad, you're hurt. And it's killing me to know that I'm the cause of it, but I can't just turn my back on something that feels like it's right."

Sam just stared at him angrily for a few seconds. "God, stop it!" she finally exclaimed.

"Stop what?" Freddie asked, surprised and confused.

"Stop…being…you!" she explained. "You, being so smart and so thoughtful—it's making it hard to hate you!"

"Don't hate me," Freddie asked sadly. "That's all that I want. I want to be friends, Sam, can't we do that?"

Sam—rough and tough Sam—looked like she might have been close to tears for a moment, but then it passed. "I don't know, Benson," she muttered. "Maybe…you know what would help?"

"What?" Freddie anxiously asked. "I'd love to do anything to help."

"Forget you ever kissed me," Sam suggested with a smirk on her face. "'Cause I _will _deny it if you ever bring it up."

Freddie smiled, sad and amused. "Deal."

With a nod, Sam went to walk back into the studio. "We have iCarly rehearsal tomorrow, don't forget," she reminded him. Just before walking into the studio, she turned around and looked at him. "Oh yeah…and don't think you get a second chance. Mama's a prize that you already had a chance at." On that pleasant note, Sam flung open the studio door and walked back in to continue her video game with Carly.

Freddie wasn't sure if he was happy or not. Carly had forgiven him; Sam said they could still be friends. That was good right? Freddie shook off his unsure feelings and left the Shay's apartment, being sure to high five Spencer on the way out.

Freddie automatically knew where to look for Liz. He took the stairs up and found her, standing in the middle of the roof, waiting for him.

"Are you still afraid?" Freddie questioned, walking over. Liz looked around quickly and nodded.

"Very much so," she answered. "It'll probably take awhile to be completely cured."

"Well," Freddie said with a smile. "I know something that I'll never be cured of."

"What's that?"

Freddie wrapped his arms around her waist. "You," he whispered.

They kissed.

**There we have it! The real, OFFICIAL ending to Torn Between Girls! I hope you guys liked it!**

**Stay tuned for the ALTERNATE ENDINGS coming this week!**


	12. Alternate Ending 1

**With 33% of the vote, here we have ALTERNATE ENDING #1! It picks up where chapter ten left off.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or its characters. I do own Liz Davidson.**

Freddie spent the rest of the day sitting in front of Bushwell Plaza, contemplating how this should happen. Was there a good way for him to say this? Probably not…

The day seemed to go by quickly while he sat outside. It was drizzling (oh, Seattle…) and dreary out, so Freddie thanked the heavens when he saw the yellow school bus coming up the street. He gulped slightly, zipping and unzipping his jacket in nervousness.

Liz was the first one off of the bus. Freddie sighed and stepped forward. She was surprised to see him. "Oh…Freddie?" she said inquisitively. "I thought you were sick today. That's what Gibby said. He told all of your teachers that you have the flu."

"Good guy, Gibby," Freddie commented. He saw Carly and Sam getting off of the bus behind Liz. They both looked at Freddie with Liz, exchanged a "knowing" glance with each other, and flounced into the building. "Look, Liz," he began. "I've made my decision."

"Really?" Liz asked, looking nervous. "…Well?"

A deep breath. "I'm sorry," he breathed. "But…there's just something that-."

Liz held up a hand to stop him. "I don't need to hear an explanation. I'm the new girl in town. I shouldn't think that you'd choose me over one of your best friends." Liz flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, but I should thank you," she told him sarcastically, and it made him anxious.

"For what?" he asked, closing his eyes in preparation for an emotional hit.

"For letting me live every fan girl's dream," she replied, her voice biting and cold. "That's clearly all you thought that I wanted. Well, too bad, you were wrong." She turned to stomp off inside.

"Liz," Freddie pleaded. "Don't be like this, please…" Liz whirled back around to face him.

"Be like _what_, Freddie?" she asked tearfully. "You led me on; you made me feel wanted in a new place. I don't know what you expected, but this is me. And I'm not going to change who I am for the guy who just broke my heart." She stormed inside, and Freddie didn't follow her, trying to recover from that unfortunate blow.

_You knew that someone would get hurt_, his conscious taunted him. _It's not over yet_.

_Shut up_, he told his conscious, and he, too, went inside.

_Later_

Standing outside Carly's apartment, Freddie hesitated before knocking. After a few seconds, Spencer answered.

"Oh," Spencer said slightly stiffly. "Freddie. He who has broken my baby sister's fragile heart. What a pleasure."

Freddie raised his eyebrows at Spencer. "You're…mad at me?"

Spencer relaxed. "No, not really, because I still wanna be buds. I just felt like the moment needed some tension. That's my job, after all, as big brother."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't blame you if you were mad at me," Freddie admitted. "I need to talk to Carly and Sam."

Spencer pointed to the ceiling. "They're in the iCarly studio."

"Thanks," Freddie said, and ran off up the stairs. He stood outside the iCarly studio door for a minute before entering.

Sam and Carly were playing Violin Hero when he walked in. They both turned to look at him and exchanged a glance with each other. Carly opened her mouth to say something, but Freddie spoke first. "Sam, I need to talk to you," he said in a rush.

Carly looked at Sam and then back at Freddie. "Well, whatever you have to tell her, you can tell me too," Carly said.

"No, I don't think I really can," Freddie said with a deep breath. "Can I…talk to you? Sam? Alone?"

"Just say what you have to say, Freddie," Carly ordered. "We know already!"

"You know?" Freddie asked, confused. "How?"

Sam dropped her violin on one of the bean bag chairs. "How?" she finally said. "We were there, we saw you catch her as soon as she got off of the bus."

"Wait, what?" Freddie's mind was freewheeling. "You think-."

Carly interrupted. "Freddie, we're big girls. Just tell us that you're with Liz."

"But I'm not!" he sputtered finally. Carly and Sam both looked taken aback.

"You're…not?" Carly clarified. Freddie nodded. "Well…well who then?"

Freddie hesitated, poised to answer, but unable to say anything. "That's…why I want to talk to Sam alone."

"You've gone this far, you might as well go all the way," Sam said harshly. She folded her arms over her chest.

Freddie shrugged sadly. "Okay then…Sam…I chose you."

Carly gasped and Sam's mouth fell open slightly, ruining her tough posture. She was stunned into silence.

"You _what_?" Carly exclaimed. "I cannot believe this!"

"Carly," Freddie tried to comfort, but she didn't let him.

"No!" she screamed. "You're choosing my best friend over me? How could you?" She had tears brimming in her eyes. "You loved me for _six years_!"

"And you've loved me back for five days, Carly!" Freddie exclaimed back. "Why is this hard for you to understand?"

"It wasn't until you picked Sam!" Carly informed him. She had stopped shouting, but was still just as angry. "I thought I understood…but now I'm just more confused."

"I am too," Sam whispered. She dropped down into a bean bag chair. Freddie was conflicted and unsure of whom to go to. He opted it was safer to stay where he was.

"Carly…" he began. She threw him a Death Glare. He just spoke faster. "Carly, I did like you. I liked you since the sixth grade, and that's why I've decided that I need to try new things, and I really have strong feelings for Sam and so I hope that you can forgive me but most importantly don't blame Sam, because you guys are best friends and I can't stand to be the guy who comes between you two, so if you want to hate me then fine but please…" Freddie finally stopped for a breath. "Please don't hate Sam."

Carly sniffed and wiped her eyes. Sam looked up from the spot she was staring at on the floor to Carly, awaiting her response.

"I could never hate Sam," Carly finally told them. "I could never hate either of you. You guys are my best friends."

Sam got up from her bean bag chair and immediately pulled Carly into a hug. "It's okay, Carls…" she comforted. "I'm sorry…"

Carly was shaking her head. "Don't apologize." She pulled out of the hug. "I want you guys to be together. I want that because I want both of you to be happy." She took a deep breath and nodded, almost like she was trying to convince herself. "Yes, that is what I want."

Freddie smiled sadly and walked over. He placed a hand on Carly's shoulder. "Carly, your friendship means so much to me. It would kill me to lose you."

Carly smiled. "You aren't losing me." She looked from Freddie to Sam. "You guys'll need a third wheel."

"Hey, you'll never be a third wheel," Freddie reassured her. "Come here." He pulled her into a tight hug, just hoping that she would forgive him.

She ended the hug pretty quickly. "I, uh…I have to go downstairs and do…something," Carly mumbled. "I'll be back in a little bit, you guys…um…yeah." With that, she turned and left the room quickly, leaving Sam and Freddie alone.

They were silent for a minute. "So…" Freddie said, breaking the silence. "Are you mad?"

Sam looked at him like he was nuts. "Mad?" She shook her head, smiling at him. "Of course I'm not mad. Why would I be?"

"You're just unpredictable, I guess," Freddie chuckled. "I never know."

"Yeah, and you never will, Benson," she added with a laugh of her own. "Don't think that dating me is going to change that."

"Hmm," Freddie contemplated with a smile. "I kinda think that it might."

"Oh really?" Sam challenged. "What are you expecting right now?"

"That you're gonna kiss me."

Sam eyed him. "Well, damn. Looks like I am gonna have to work on it." She wrapped her arms around Freddie's neck. "But not right now. Right now we'll do this." Sam kissed him.

She was his. Sam—tough, meat-loving, crazy Sam—was his.

And that's all that he ever wanted.

**There we go! Alternate ending #1 has been completed!**

**Alternate ending #2 will be up soon!**


	13. Alternate Ending 2

**With 26% of the vote, here is Alternate Ending Number 2! It, once again, picks up where chapter ten leaves off.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or its characters. I do own Liz Davidson.**

Freddie spent most of the day pacing around his living room, trying to figure out what to say to her. What _could _someone say in a situation like this? He had no idea what to say to _any_ of them.

As it got around the time that the school bus was supposed to arrive, Freddie fell back into a habit that he had outgrown sometime in the seventh or eighth grade—watching for Carly to come home through the peephole on his door. He wanted to talk to her as soon as she arrived.

Someone entered into his line of vision soon, but sadly it wasn't Carly. "Oh no," Freddie mumbled, just barely having time to move as the door to the apartment flung open.

"Freddie!" his mother cried out, pulling him in for a tight hug. "Oh, I missed you so much! I brought us back a new jigsaw puzzle, and I know you're just going to love it!"

"Uh, yeah, hi Mom," Freddie mumbled, trying to pry himself out of his mom's grasp. "How was your…um…trip?"

His mom finally let go, and started handing Freddie her bags. "Oh it was wonderful, honey," she told him breathlessly. "I talked to so many other single moms and…" Mrs. Benson's voice died out as she looked at the clock. "Freddie, why are you home so early? Usually the school bus is just arriving right now."

"Umm," Freddie began, dropping his mom's bags.

His mom gasped. "Freddie, were you skipping school?"

"What?" Freddie said, trying his best to sound shocked. "No way, Mom. I was sick today, and decided I should stay home…get plenty of rest…drink…fluids." He trailed off, hoping his mom bought it.

She did. "Oh, my poor little Freddiekins!" she exclaimed, feeling his forehead. "Is your throat sore? Do you have a headache?"

Freddie rolled his eyes, shoving her hands away, and grabbing her bags again as an excuse to walk away. "I'm fine, Mom, it was a…5-hour bug." He grimaced with his back turned to her. _Is there even such a thing as a 5-hour bug, Freddie?_

"Oh…" his mom said, sounding relieved. "Well, don't you worry, I'll write you a note for school tomorrow."

"Awesome, Mom," Freddie mumbled, tossing her bags onto the bed in her room. He managed to evade his mom as she went into the kitchen, and resumed his vigil at the peephole.

After five minutes of his waiting out there, his mom found him. "Freddie," she called, concerned. "What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for Carly to come home," Freddie explained, not moving his eye from the peephole. "She's…getting my homework for me and I'm just oh-so-anxious to get started on it."

"Carly?" his mom asked, as she straightened the flowers on the hall table. "Carly got home at the same time I did! Yes, she walked by with that blonde psychopath you two call Sam right when you took my bags in." Suddenly, all Mrs. Benson heard was the door opening and slamming shut. "Freddie!"

Freddie bounded across the hall in one leap and pounded on the Shay's front door. After a few seconds, Spencer answered.

"Oh," Spencer said slightly stiffly. "Freddie. He who has broken my baby sister's fragile heart. What a pleasure."

Freddie raised his eyebrows at Spencer. "You're…mad at me?"

Spencer relaxed. "No, not really, because I still wanna be buds. I just felt like the moment needed some tension. That's my job, after all, as big brother."

With a grin, Freddie shrugged. "I guess you would have a reason to be mad but…I'm hoping you won't when I'm done talking to Carly. Where is she?"

Spencer looked curious, but just pointed to the ceiling. "iCarly studio with Sam."

"Thanks Spencer," Freddie called as he ran up the stairs to the attic. He ran immediately into the studio, bursting through the door and stumbling to a stop to avoid crashing into his own tech cart.

Sam and Carly, playing Violin Hero, both turned around to look at him. Carly immediately paused the game. "Hey Freddie," she said with a smile. "Can we talk?" Then, without waiting for an answer, "'Kay, great!" Carly set down her violin and pulled Freddie back into the hallway. She shut the door, took a deep breath, and folded her arms across her chest.

"Carly, I need to talk to you," Freddie began, breathless and excited, but Carly started to talk over him.

"Look, Freddie, I just need you to know that _I _know that you picked Liz." Carly nodded and sighed. "I know you like her a lot."

Freddie almost wanted to smile but didn't (because it really wasn't amusing—he _had _liked Liz and he didn't want to break her heart). "Carly," he said gently. "I need you to know something too. You're wrong."

Carly looked shocked. "W-what?" she stammered. "What do you mean I'm wrong?"

This time, Freddie did smile. "I can't turn my back on six years of loving you, Carly. I knew from the first time I met you that you would be mine someday. I knew that I would always love you. I knew that you would love me. I've waited through all of these years for you to love me too, and I can't just turn my back on that." He smiled even wider. "Carly, I _love_ you—I'll never stop."

Carly's hand went to cover her mouth as she smiled and sniffled, but it was trembling. Freddie gently took her hand in his own, lacing his fingers through hers. "Don't hide your smile," he requested. "It's too beautiful to hide."

"Freddie," Carly started to say. Then she laughed slightly and shook her head. "I don't understand at all."

With a shrug, Freddie took her other hand and pulled her closer to him. "It's impossible to understand love, Carly. I just know that I love you."

"I love you too," she whispered. Their faces were close, noses touching. Freddie leaned in and kissed Carly.

He hadn't kissed her since they had broken up sophomore year, but every memory was as fresh as if it had been just yesterday. The way her hair smelled—strawberries—and the soft feel of her lips against his. She was small and delicate, and still tough in her own way. She was amazing and he had always loved her and always would.

When they finally stopped kissing, Freddie was struck with the horrible realization that the hallway wasn't exactly private. Slowly, he turned to look through the glass door of the studio and saw Sam standing there, her violin still in hand. She had no expression to speak of. Carly followed his gaze. "Oh, no, Sam," she murmured, worried. "I know—about you and her, I know. She told me everything today."

"She what?" Freddie asked, looking back to Carly, who just nodded. Freddie sighed and, releasing Carly, walked back into the studio. "Sam."

"Yeah?" Sam asked, biting her lip and turning towards the plasma screen.

"Sam, can we talk?" Freddie asked.

"What about?" Sam inquired, pretending to inspect her violin-controller.

"Things," Freddie told her, raising an eyebrow.

Sam stood there for a minute. "Sam, you and Freddie need to talk," Carly finally said. With that, Sam sighed and tossed her violin down next to Carly's.

"Fine, let's talk," Sam grumbled, following Freddie to the hallway. Freddie and Carly exchanged a smile before he closed the door. Sam looked at him expectantly. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Sam, I don't want there to be any…bad feelings between us," Freddie pleaded. Sam raised an eyebrow at him.

"I don't know what planet _you're _living on, Fredwart, but on Earth, there are _always _bad feelings between us."

Freddie exhaled deeply. "This won't work out if you won't take this seriously, Sam."

Sam's tough exterior finally seemed to crack a little. "Did it ever occur to you that I'm not taking it seriously because I'm hurt, Freddie? You kissed me—no, actually, you _made out_ with me. Now you're choosing my best friend over me? Ouch."

Freddie gulped. "I know," he said sadly. "And…I'm sorry…but Carly is just-."

"The girl of your dreams, and the one you've loved since you were eleven," Sam finished for him. She smiled slightly. "I don't think I expected anything else. I know you. And you're not the type of guy who will give his heart to more than one girl." Sam's eyes lowered to the floor. "It's one of the best things about you."

"Sam-."

She looked back up. "No, I'm fine with it," she told him sternly. "And I can deal with rejection. God knows I've dealt with it my whole life—why couldn't I deal with it coming from you?" Sam turned to walk back into the studio.

"Wait," Freddie said, and she turned. "We're still friends right?" 

Sam smiled. "Freddie, I don't think we could ever really be called friends." She gave him a final look. "We have iCarly rehearsal tomorrow, don't forget." She walked into the studio and, after a quick talk and hug with Carly, resumed playing Violin Hero.

Freddie sighed, realizing what would have to come next.

_Later_

Practically dragging his feet down the hall, Freddie finally reached apartment 7E. He knocked, praying that no one would answer.

Liz came to the door. When she saw Freddie, she smiled despite her obvious anger towards him. "Hey," she said, leaning against the doorframe. "I thought you were sick. Gibby told all of your teachers you had the flu."

Freddie nodded. "Gibby's a good guy like that," he commented.

"What?" Liz asked, confused.

"Nothing," Freddie sighed. He took a deep breath. "Can we talk?"

Liz nodded slowly. "Uh huh. Do you want to come in?"

"Maybe it would be better if I didn't," Freddie told her. Liz nodded again, and joined him in the hall, shutting the door.

"Well?" Liz asked nervously, folding her arms tightly across her chest. "Have you made up your mind?"

"I have," Freddie said weakly. "Liz, I'm sorry, I just-."

Liz cut him off. "No," was all she said. "No, no, no. I don't want to hear how sorry you are. I don't…care. It's my fault."

"What?" Freddie asked, astounded. "No, nothing's your fault, it's just-."

She wouldn't let him finish. "_Stop _trying to give me an excuse. I shouldn't have expected to come before two _beautiful _girls that you've known since you were in middle school. They're your best friends and you have feelings for them. _But_," she added coldly, her voice biting and steely. "You still led me on. It's not my fault; not entirely. You helped, Freddie. You made me feel like I was beautiful, for who I was, and you know what? I'd never felt that way before. And now I know it didn't mean anything." Liz's voice broke. She bit her lip and inhaled deeply.

"Liz," Freddie begged. "It's…it's not like it meant nothing. At the time it really did. Please, just let me do something to make this better."

Liz laughed. "What can you possibly do, Freddie?" She just shook her head. "Good luck with whoever you chose. I'm sorry things couldn't work between us." Liz opened the door to her apartment and, with a final look at Freddie, went inside.

The slam echoed through the whole hallway.

_No one could get through this without being hurt_, his conscious told him. _You knew that all along._

_Carly's worth it_, he told his conscious. _I love her and I'm never letting her go again._


	14. Alternate Ending 3

**It's taken me awhile to get this last bit out. Sorry! This alternate ending (ALTERNATE ENDING 3) received 0 % of the vote in the poll, and was only included as a joke. BUT, with some awesome advice from Serene Girl, I decided it might make a nice ending. Enjoy! (As usual, the alternate ending picks up where chapter ten leaves off).**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own iCarly or its characters. I do own Liz Davidson.**

This was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do in his entire life. Waiting in the lobby was simply agony, and not just because Lewbert was yelling at him for pacing back and forth. Finally, Freddie grew tired of the constant shrieking, however, and stepped outside into the cold drizzle.

Soon enough he saw the big yellow bus trundling up the damp street. It stopped in front of Bushwell Plaza and Liz was the first person off. "Liz," Freddie called, stepping forward.

Liz was surprised to see him. "Oh…Freddie?" she said inquisitively. "I thought you were sick today. That's what Gibby said. He told all of your teachers that you have the flu."

"Good guy, Gibby," Freddie commented. He saw Carly and Sam getting off of the bus behind Liz. They both looked at Freddie with Liz and exchanged a "knowing" glance with each other. Before they went inside, however, Freddie called out to them. "Carly, Sam." He waved them over.

The girls exchanged another glance, this one more of a "what-the-hell-is-he-doing" glance, but still walked over hesitantly. "What's up, nub?" Sam asked in a hostile tone, folding her arms over her chest.

This was it. A deep breath and… "I need to talk to you. To all of you."

Sam pulled a giant Tootsie Pop out of her pocket, unwrapped it, and stuck it in her mouth. "We get that," she sneered around the lollipop. "Just get to the part where you ask Liz to go out with you."

Another deep breath was needed. "I'm sorry," Freddie whispered. He turned to Carly. "Carly…I've loved you since I first saw you. You've been my best friend for years. I used to fall asleep hoping that someday you'd love me back, and I would swear that if you ever did, that I would never let you go." Freddie shook his head. "But I don't really believe that you love me. I think you're just missing me loving you. I don't want to deal with that kind of rejection again."

Carly opened her mouth to say something, but Freddie just turned to Sam. "Sam, we hated each other in middle school. We're friends now…or frenemies as some call it. We had our first kiss together, and the chemistry between us _is _amazing. But we have nothing in common _otherwise_. A relationship can't be built on kissing. It needs something stronger than that. Something that we don't have right now."

The sucker in Sam's mouth twisted angrily as she gritted her teeth. Freddie then turned to Liz. "Liz…" he began, inhaling deeply. "I like you. _A lot_. But we just haven't known each other for that long. We've gotten to be friends over the past five days—but that's not long enough, in my opinion, for a real, true relationship to get started. I know I kissed you and I'm sorry—it was wrong of me to do that. I just think that we should stay friends for right now."

Freddie looked at all three girls, who wore similar expressions of confusion. "Wait," Carly finally murmured, breaking the silence. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Freddie sighed again. "I don't think I should date any of you," he told them finally. "I just want to be friends, but just say the word and I'll get out of your lives as fast as possible."

All of the girls exchanged another look as Freddie turned and walked into Bushwell Plaza, his heart breaking.

_The Groovy Smoothie_

Sam stabbed her straw through the lid of the smoothie. "How? _How _does that nub break up with _all three _of us?" She shook her head and sucked in a gulp of watermelon-papaya smoothie.

Carly shook her head too. "I don't understand it," she commented. "I thought for sure he was going to pick you, Liz." Carly glanced at the girl sitting to her left, playing absent-mindedly with a straw wrapper. Liz looked up and sighed.

"I guess I thought he would too," she admitted, stirring her strawberry-kiwi smoothie. "But…what Freddie said makes sense. I _have _only known him for a few days. Maybe he was right to stop things with me."

Carly nodded. "Yeah…and maybe Freddie and Spencer are right…maybe I don't really love Freddie, but the idea of Freddie. I mean, on paper, Freddie is the perfect boyfriend. Smart, athletic, kind, caring…"

"An awesome kisser," Sam piped up. She looked down at the table, slightly embarrassed at having admitted that. After a moment, Carly and Liz both spoke up with their agreement. "I guess Freddie was right about him and me too," Sam grumbled. "That's hard to admit. But I think that we'd end up being one of those 'let's make out all the time' couples. And even _I _want something more than that."

Carly, Sam, and Liz all sighed at the same time and set to drinking smoothies. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Carly spoke again.

"Do you think he really meant it?" she asked the other two. "That he'd just stay away from us?"

Sam looked thoughtful. "Honestly…yeah. I do. He's an 'honorable' kind of guy. He probably thinks we all hate him."

Carly looked from Sam to Liz. "Well…do we?" she asked them. "I don't."

Liz shook her head. "I don't either. I think he did the right thing."

They both waited for Sam's answer. "What?" Sam asked. "I _always_ hate Freddie. I just hate him in a…loving way." Carly rolled her eyes.

"Well, what are we going to do to show Freddie we don't hate him?" Liz asked. Carly smiled.

"I have an idea."

_That Night_

Freddie slowly went up the stairs to the iCarly studio, wondering why he was there. All he knew was that at 8:30 at night, he had received a "mysterious" phone call (with Carly's phone number—she would really make a horrible spy) telling him that he should come to the iCarly studio ASAP. Of course he obeyed, had found the front door opened, and now here he was, hesitating on the last step, but finally going up.

He opened the door to the studio. It was dark. "Hello?" he called, feeling for the light switch. "Carly?" Finding the switch, he flipped the light on.

The room was covered in streamers and balloons. Carly, Sam, and Liz were all standing, grinning (yes, even Sam). Freddie felt a smile come to his face, albeit a hesitant one. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's a surprise friend party!" Carly exclaimed, throwing her arms out beside her, gesturing to the room.

"It's our way of letting you know that we still want to be friends with you," Liz explained, smiling. "You can't get rid of us _that_ easily."

Freddie's smile got larger. "Really?" he asked.

"What, do you think we're lying?" Sam grumbled, but with a smile. "Now come on! Let's party!" She held up her blue remote and pressed a button.

_RAAAAAAAAAAANDOM DANCING!_

With laughs all around, the four friends randomly danced.

**The end! I hope you guys have enjoyed this story because I enjoyed writing it! Sequel is being currently planned, so stay ever vigilant!**


End file.
